Berceuse
by NightShade727
Summary: Once he agreed to join Umbrella, his life changed forever. Now, thrust into a world of deceit, corruption, and danger, Albert Wesker and his friend William Birkin, try to survive as an ever tightening noose closes around them.
1. Chapter 1

**So I finally got around to starting Berceuse again!**

Chapter 1

Wesker stared at the broken and lifeless body of Oswell E. Spencer. A small pool of blood was starting to form around Spencer, gushing out of the hole in his chest that Wesker created.

"The right to be a god? _You_?" He shook his head at the body in disgust, despite knowing that the man could no longer hear him. "Arrogant even until the end. Only one truly capable of being a god deserves that right."

Wesker turned around slowly towards the large windows in Spencer's library that overlooked the ocean and braced himself against them. Lightning split the sky and rain started tapping lightly against the glass. He closed his vibrant red eyes, Spencer's words echoing in his head.

_The Wesker Children…I was to become a god…_

"It all makes perfect sense," Wesker said to himself, hating Spencer. Spencer was the only person Wesker could never outplay, the man who was always one step ahead of him. And he hated him for it because Spencer was always in control, even for as long as Wesker could remember…

January 1977

Albert Wesker stared out the second story window of his Martha's Vinyard home. A light snow was falling outside, covering the garden outside with a thin layer of white.

After a moment, his dull blue eyes refocused on the book in his lap, a microbiology textbook for a class he would be taking once the winter break was finished. Though he hated doing schoolwork over the holiday, it was all he had to do to keep himself occupied in the large empty house.

He flipped the page and glanced out the window again. If he tilted his head just right, he could see the driveway at the front of the house. Just like the last five times he looked, it was still empty. He shook his head and chided himself for checking.

Alex would be here eventually, he reminded himself, hating the fact that he was actually worried about her showing.

But his concern wasn't without reason. Alex, Albert's adoptive guardian, was a top Umbrella Researcher currently working on a project that required her to travel most of the year to check on her experiments that were located in various parts of the world. Due to this, he only ever saw her two or three weeks out of the year and even then she worked most of the time. Though he felt no love for her, she was the only person who he had even remotely considered family and did feel some attachment to her.

Sighing, he closed the book, set it down beside him and reclined a little further on the couch. He hated the winter holidays because it reminded him how alone he was. Granted, he had no friends at Harvard but constantly going to class and working on homework alleviated the feeling a bit.

He leaned his head against the arm of the couch and looked out the window. A black car was now in the driveway and Albert sat up straight.

A thin woman with blonde hair exited the car from the passenger seat. She wore a long black winter coat with fur along the collar. Albert easily recognized Alex but stared in wonder at the man who exited the vehicle with her. The man's hair was dark, starting to gray along the sides. He also wore a long winter coat and black shades over his eyes.

The two exchanged a few words that Albert could not hear and then headed to the house. Albert stared intently at the man, having never seen him before. Who was he? A coworker? Or, Albert shivered in disgust at the idea, a lover?

The door opened and Albert could hear them enter before the heavy oak doors were shut. He sat up, trying to decide whether he should make his presence known when Alex's voice came floating up from down stairs.

"Albert."

She didn't yell it, just merely said it, in the cold, dead tone of hers. Immediately, Albert stood up and smoothed out his clothes. He didn't want to keep her waiting and quickly headed down the stairs, into the entryway.

Alex had shed her long winter coat and was just wearing her simple but elegant black dress. The man had also removed his coat, leaving him in a black suit and a bright red silk shirt. He carried a black briefcase with the initials OES engraved on the golden buckle. His eyes were hidden behind the dark shades and it unnerved Albert that he didn't take them off despite being indoors.

"There you are, boy," Alex rolled her grey eyes in irritation. "Albert, this is Mr. Ozwell E. Spencer, my boss and CEO of Umbrella Corporation."

The man smiled and removed his black sunglasses. The smile he gave Albert made a shiver go down his spine and he had to force himself to hold out his hand to the man. Something about him just seemed wrong. Perhaps it was the tacky way he dressed or the over happy smile.

Spencer took his hand and gave it a firm shake before dropping it. "How do you do?"

"Very well, thanks," Albert said, smile coming out as more of a grimace. "Yourself?"

"Wonderful," Spencer said a little too quickly. He turned expectantly to Alex. "Alexandra? Would you be so kind?"

Alex nodded. "Mr. Spencer is here to discuss a job offer with you."

"What kind?"

"A very important one," Spencer answered, leaning towards Albert. Albert had to actively resist the urge to step back as the man got to close for comfort. "One that will change your life. It will open doors to all the things you can be and push you to your fullest potential."

"I see," Albert said, still focused on how close Spencer was rather than his offer.

"Albert," Alex said, again sounding impatient. "Why don't you take Mr. Spencer to my office and discuss things there?"

Albert nodded stiffly and motioned for Spencer to follow him. "This way."

He led Spencer up the stairs and to the door on the left of the staircase. Alex's office was empty save for a desk and bookshelves filled with biology books. Immediately Spencer took a seat in Alex's chair, placing his briefcase on the desk and Albert awkwardly stood in the door. He didn't particularly want to be alone with Umbrella's CEO but he could feel that Spencer was not a man to displease.

"Close the door."

"Yes, sir," Albert closed it without turning his back and eyed Spencer warily.

"How familiar are you with Umbrella Pharmaceutical, Inc.?"

"Umbrella is the leading manufacture of medical supplies and household products," Albert answered slowly, wondering what position he'd be offered. "I know my biological parents worked-"

"Your parents were two very distinguished researchers," Spencer cut him off. "I was highly pleased with them."

"Thank you, sir," the boy nodded his head slightly.

"And, as you know, Alexandra is my most brilliant and talented employee."

"Yes," Albert said, not trying to hide the bitterness in his voice.

Spencer leaned back a bit in the chair and eyed Albert up and down. Albert wondered if he was going to comment on his tone but instead he remained silent. The silence continued and Albert shifted his weight slightly, feeling extremely uncomfortable with Spencer staring at him. He did not, however, lower his gaze.

"How old are you?" Spencer asked suddenly, after a few minutes of silence. Spencer's beady eyes bore into him.

"Sixteen," Albert replied, wishing Spencer would turn his dark eyes elsewhere.

"Ah, wonderful age. When do you turn seventeen?"

"In a little less then two months, in the middle of March."

"That is perfect!" Spencer sounded overly cheery at the statement. He pulled a couple forms from his briefcase and handed them to Albert. "I spoke to the Harvard administration and have already looked at your progress at the university level. They say that you've thrived under the rigorous course load and competition. Alex has also spoken highly of your capabilities. I believe that you will be able to handle a research position at Umbrella's top facility and, with a bit of training, could handle a job in upper management."

Albert balked at this but quickly regained his composure. "Upper management? When would I begin?"

"Should you accept the job, this summer. I would set up a special training session for you at the Arklay Management Training Facility beginning in July. You would be personally trained under my colleague Doctor James Marcus."

"I see," Albert looked at the pages in his hands. They outlined the training program and listed dates for when he should apply and how to get in contact with Umbrella.

"Doctor Marcus rarely takes employees that are your age but Alex has convinced him that you are ready. I'm sure Alan and Paulette would be proud of their son, taking their place in the company."

"I appreciate the offer," Albert said slowly, looking closer at the documents in his hands. The specific page he was holding outlined all the medical projects that Umbrella researchers undertook while employed. While they all seemed interesting, Albert realized that most of it would require a wealth of knowledge about medicine, something he lacked.

"Do I sense some hesitation?"

"I am a Chemical and Biological Engineer major, my focus is on virus structure and mechanics. I do not have the correct classes or qualifications suited for a medical career." And, truth be told, he had no desire to work in medicine.

Spencer's dark eyes flashed dangerously for a moment before he grinned. "There is a lot more to Umbrella then just the pharmaceutical branch," he whispered, leaning very close to Albert now. "Take the job offer and you will see what I mean."

Albert clenched his jaw as Spencer sat back, away from him. Perhaps he was reading too far into it, but the last part sounded more like a threat. Obviously Ozwell Spencer was not a man who was often turned down and Albert wondered if he crossed some kind of line. They stayed in a heavy silence for a while before Spencer got to his feet.

"Well, I am glad I was able to speak to you today," said Spencer as he stood, collecting his briefcase. "I am off to California to speak to one other potential employee but I feel that he won't be able to handle the job. It's a pity you don't have any interest in this opportunity. I was certain only a person of your...unique caliber...could handle such a demanding position."

Albert blinked but didn't say anything. He still had the papers clutched in his hands, suddenly feeling like he might have done something terribly wrong. He also knew there would probably be repercussions with Alex if he was to turn down the job.

"I expect to hear from you by the end of May," Spencer paused and looked over at his shoulder at Albert who was still standing in the office. He reached into his pant pocket and pulled out a single white business card. Albert managed to hold his hand out to receive the card. "Call the number on the back of this card. It is my personal number. I do hope you carefully consider this offer. It will only come once." With that, he continued walking, not looking back once.

Albert opened his mouth and then shut it quickly. Despite the fact that he didn't particularly care for Umbrella due to Alex's disinterest in him and that Spencer gave him the creeps, he knew that this could be the opportunity of a lifetime. Everyone knew that Umbrella was the wealthiest company in the world and had many connections. Albert craved that kind of power and here it was being handed to him on a platter.

He had to accept the offer.

"Mr. Spencer!" Albert raced down the stairs after him. "Mr. Spencer, wait!"

"Yes?" Spencer drawled, sounding bored. He was standing at the bottom of the stairs, replacing his coat and getting ready to go outside.

"I'll take the job," Albert said quickly.

Spencer eyed him up and down. "Good boy."

Irritation flashed across Albert's face at the comment and Spencer laughed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his sunglasses. "Here, take them."

Albert cocked his head to the side but took the glasses. "What for?"

Spencer laughed again, a laugh one would give a child for asking a rather dumb question. Albert's cheeks flushed and gripped the glasses tightly in his hand. "What for?" he repeated, trying to make his voice sound unaffected by Spencer's mockery.

"Let me give you a bit of advice," Spencer said, stepping close to Albert and leaning forward so that their faces were mere inches apart. "Umbrella isn't easy and everyone there will be looking to see if you will fail. Your eyes tell too much of what you are feeling. I can see that you are scared of me—and yes I know you don't think so but I can see that you are—and your fear of others will be your undoing."

Spencer took a step back, nodded his head, and walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

Albert stood in the entryway, the glasses hanging idly in one hand. He looked at his reflection in the glass window. His blonde hair hung loosely around his face, just short of covering his dull eyes. He pursed his lips together and then slipped the sunglasses onto his face. They looked just as unnerving on him as they did on Spencer.

"Well?"

Albert turned around, slightly surprised that he hadn't heard Alex approach.

"Did you agree?" Her arms were folded across her chest. Her icy eyes fixated on him, almost daring him to say otherwise.

"Yeah," Albert said quietly.

"Good." Alex seemed unmoved. An awkward silence followed. "I have to go back to work."

"Alright," Albert said, trying to match the lack of emotion in her voice.

Alex turned around and started to walk away, then paused. "Those suit you."

**I've started rewriting Berceuse and like it better then the original. Hopefully you all enjoyed it and please review!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**I started re-writing this chapter but realized I actually liked it in its original form. I've extended some conversations and changed some descriptions but for the most part it is how I originally had it. Anyway, hope it is still an enjoyable read!**

Chapter 2

July 1977

Seventeen-year-old Albert stepped out of the car that Ozwell Spencer had sent to pick him up and looked at the Umbrella Management Training Facility in awe. It was impressive, built a lot bigger than it needed to be for the few people that went through the program. Windows lined the facility with arms of ivy twisted around them and the columns that separated the windows. A high, spiked iron gate surrounded the entry way, an obvious warning to keep uninvited guests out.

Albert looked around the grounds and pulled the sunglasses Spencer had given him out of his pocket and slipped them on his face. He had worn them since Spencer gave them to him back in January and though they had taken getting used to, he grown comfortable having them on. He also enjoyed the unease that others displayed at being unable to see his eyes.

Standing in the large entryway was a thin, auburn haired man dressed in a dark suit carrying a folder under his arm. Albert knew it was Doctor James Marcus, the person he was assigned to train under. The older man was shifting his weight anxiously, as if he did not want to be standing there, then nodded slightly and approached Albert.

"Ah, you must be Albert Wesker," Marcus held out his hand. "I am James Marcus. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine," Albert said as sincerely as he could manage. He was not used to sucking up to people but this man currently held his future in his hands. Albert could stand to kiss up until he was in charge of the lab. "Shall we begin?"

Marcus gave him a small smile. "We are waiting for one other trainee."

"A second trainee?" Albert had to work to keep the disappointment and surprise out of his voice. He hoped that he would be the only trainee that Marcus would personally watch over. Rumor had it that Marcus rarely took interest in any of his students and the fact that he wanted to personally watch over Albert filled the boy with an immense amount of pride. Now, however, that pride was taken down a notch.

"Ah, here he is now," Marcus said as another car drove up. Albert eyed the car warily, wanting to be able to size up his competition. When the car door opened, he blinked twice, not really believing what he was seeing.

Out of the car stepped a scrawny boy with ill-fitting clothes. His big blue eyes darted around excitedly from behind his sandy blond bangs, eager to take in his surroundings. A line of freckles swept across his face and round cheeks completed his youthful appearance. The boy looked no older than sixteen but the large, stupid grin on his face made him appear even younger.

Albert narrowed his eyes, hidden by his sunglasses, but kept the rest of his face emotionless. His competition was this child? He had thought that he would be the youngest researcher Umbrella had ever employed...apparently he was wrong.

"William Birkin," Marcus said with false warmth as the boy bounced over to the other two. They shook hands before Marcus motioned to Albert. "I would like you to meet your partner, Albert Wesker."

"Hello, Albert," William's voice was high; clearly he had not hit puberty yet. The younger boy enthusiastically held out his hand, that large toothy smile still on his face. Albert raised an eyebrow and gave him a curt nod, but did not offer his hand. After a moment William dropped his hand to his side, looking dejected.

Marcus shifted his weight again and cleared his throat, seemingly oblivious to Albert rebuffing William. "Boys, if you'll follow me, we can get you settled in." Marcus turned and began walking towards the building. Both Albert and William fell into step behind him.

The mansion's interior matched its impressive exterior. Thick Persian rugs lined the dark wooden floors of the entryway. Large chandeliers hung from the ceilings, lit low to cast eerie shadows over the décor.

"Wow," William whispered, blue eyes bulging out of his head in wonder. Albert wanted to mimic the younger boy's reaction but kept quiet. He wanted to make sure he looked professional in front of Marcus.

"Quite spectacular isn't it?" Marcus paused. "These walls hold many secrets beyond your wildest dreams. Follow me."

As they walked through the mansion, Marcus began pointing out the common areas; mess hall, labs, and classrooms.

Albert didn't pay very much attention to them because he was lost in his own thoughts. Obviously this child—he grimaced as he thought about it—had to be intelligent if Marcus was going to personally look after him, but how could Umbrella expect someone like him to survive working here? He seemed so young that even one little mistake would completely throw him off his game. And with his goofy smile and big clothes he looked more like a kid playing dress up then a serious scientist. Was it a joke of some sort to have him working alongside himself?

"The dormitories are this way."

Marcus led them up a side stairwell, up to the top floor of the mansion. The rooms were situated off of an ornately decorated hall that had multiple paintings and avant-garde chandeliers. The dorm hallway looked as if it was completely devoid of any human life with how clean and silent it was. Above each of the doors was a large number with the occupants' names engraved on a plaque below it.

"This will be your room," Marcus motioned to the room numbered twelve. He handed each boy a set of keys and a folder. "This is just some of the information you'll need for working here as well as your ID Badges. You have the rest of the day to yourselves. Now, I have work to do and I will see you early tomorrow morning. Good day." With that, Marcus walked briskly back to the stairs and then disappeared from view.

Albert looked at the keys in his hands, brass with a number twelve on them that matched the one on the door. After looking over them for a moment he realized that William was staring at him expectantly. "What?"

William started as if Albert shocked him. He fumbled with his key for a moment and pushed it into the lock. "This is some facility, huh?" The latch clicked and the door swung open. "I really can't wait to start the research. I have been looking up a lot of information on the Ebola virus found in Africa just this year. Have you had a chance to read up on it?"

"No," Albert said shortly, stepping past William to get into the room. It was a comfortable size with two identical sets of desks, chairs, bookcases, dressers, and beds. A door on one end of the room opened to reveal a toilet, two sinks, and a shower

"Did Mr. Spencer approach you for the job as well?"

"Yes," Albert said, taking his bags and tossing them onto the bed on the right side of the room.

"Did you want to work here before he contacted you?"

"No." He started unpacking his clothes in the hopes that William would notice he was extremely uninterested in any sort of conversation.

"Why are you still wearing your sunglasses?"

Albert suppressed a groan. Did all his new roommate do was ask questions? "Because."

"Because…?"

"Do you always ask so many questions?" Albert snapped, slamming his dresser drawer shut.

"Sorry," William said, sounding irritated.

Albert rolled his eyes and continued unpacking. He could hear William moving about the room behind him, sighing periodically. He wondered if the boy was trying to get his attention or if he naturally was this loud. After about five minutes of this, Albert turned around. "Do you require assistance?"

William gave him a look that reminded Albert of a kicked puppy, and he cringed inwardly. He didn't do well with people who were upset, and the look William was giving him made him feel uncomfortable. He tried again, this time keeping the irritation out of his voice. "Can I help you?"

William only scowled. He gave Albert a dirty look before turning his back to finish emptying his suitcase. Albert rolled his eyes and was about to continue his own task when William spoke again.

"If we are going to live together, we might as well try to get along."

He faced William, who was glaring at him with his arms folded over his chest. Albert thought he looked kind of like a pouty child, but the darkness in his eyes seemed to reach further than his sour mood. There was an angry fire in them, almost as if he would reach across the room and attack Albert if he got pissed off enough.

"Fine," Albert replied. "My name is Albert Wesker. How do you do?"

"Wonderful," William replied, his tone heavily sarcastic. He gave him a quick look up and down, a small frown spreading across his face. "How old are you?"

Albert frowned at the question. "Seventeen. Why?"

"I would have thought that someone close to my age would at least treat me with a certain degree of respect...or are you threatened by me like everyone else?"

Albert grunted in response. It wasn't that he felt threatened per say, more so irritated. Up until now, he had always been the best, as well as the youngest, at everything he did. He was top of all his classes at Princeton and the favorite of all his professors there. At Umbrella, Albert was now second youngest and that didn't sit well with him. He would have to work hard to make sure that he could top William. When Albert didn't respond, William went back to fixing his things, an uncomfortable silence falling between them.

Once Albert was finished unpacking he grabbed the folder Marcus had given him and started toward the door. He wanted to get away from the awkwardness that filled the room.

"Where are you going?" William asked when he noticed that Albert was leaving.

"Outside." Albert said and shut the door before William could say anything else.

He marched up the staircase to the common areas of the facility, not passing anyone on the way there. It was Sunday afternoon, so he guessed that the other trainees were out for the weekend. He tried to explore the various rooms of the training facility but most of the rooms were locked, requiring a key or crest or some other sort of nicknack to open them. After not finding anything of interest in the common areas, he left the facility to take a stroll around the grounds.

Outside the warm summer air caressed his skin. He was dressed in a black button up and black pants that quickly retained the warmth from the sun's rays, so he quickly found a spot to sit under a large tree as a cool escape from the sun. He leaned against the tree and sunk to the ground, deciding it would be a nice place to read.

_Training Facility Mission:_

_This training facility will raise a new generation of model employees to serve the future of Umbrella Corp. Applying the strictest and most rigorous training standards, this facility will, without regard of gender, race or creed, produce only the best candidates to be global future leaders of Umbrella Corporation. We look forward to the development of your leadership qualities._

_Training facility Guidelines:_

_Discipline, Obedience, Unity._

_These three words are the basic principles which govern Umbrella Corporation employees, and are to be considered the Law of this facility. Keep these words in mind at all times. Dedicate yourselves to the training, and bring honor to yourself and the corporation._

_James Marcus,_

_Director,_

_Umbrella Corporation,_

_Management Training Facility_

Beneath the text of the letter was a list of rules, detailing curfew and restrictions meant to keep all the trainees in line. It also included a list of classes that were meant to make all the trainees "well-rounded" for when they took up their actual positions in Umbrella. With this schedule, there wasn't much room for experimentation, which slightly irritated Albert. He knew the point of going to the training facility was to make them become responsible scientists, but it still seemed like a waste of time.

The final piece in the folder was his Umbrella identification card. The card's gold lettering glistened in the sunlight and he held it up to inspect it. Since accepting the position at Umbrella he had looked forward to the day when he would control all of the company. But with William here, he could see this dream of his slipping from his grasp. He knew he must not dwell on being second best; he had to adapt and move on. That was the only way to survive in a company as cut-throat as Umbrella.

Albert rubbed his temples. If William Birkin was more intelligent than him, it might be wise to form some sort of alliance with him. From what he had learned about Umbrella since Spencer first approached him, he knew everyone employed at the company was highly competitive and willing to do almost anything to reach the top. Having someone on his side, even if it was someone like William, could prove useful later on.

He leaned back against the tree and looked out across the grass. The emptiness of everything reminded him of his home in Martha's Vineyard. He vaguely wondered if he would ever see Alex here considering her relationship with Mr. Spencer. He snorted at the idea. He might actually see his adoptive guardian more here then he would the previous fourteen years of his life.

The afternoon wore on and slowly people began returning to the facility's grounds from the Ecliptic Express station. Albert watched them from a distance, observing his new classmates with interest. Some of them were older then he had expected, some were women, and some looked to be fresh out of college. None of them seemed to be anywhere near as young as he and William but he knew he shouldn't underestimate them.

With these thoughts in mind, Albert headed back to the mansion. By the time he got back, the dining hall and lounge were filled with all the other trainees. Small cliques were scattered around the room, each group talking together excitedly. Albert looked around at each group in turn and wondered whether he would eventually fall into one of them. He quickly dismissed this thought, reminding himself that even at Harvard he never had a circle of friends.

Slowly it seemed that the other trainees started to notice his presence and started to look at him in curiosity. Feeling uncomfortable under their looks, he glanced around the room to see if William had shown up. Eventually he had caught sight of the younger boy, looking painfully out of place as he stood by himself in the corner of the room. With new resolve to make an alliance with William, Albert took off his sunglasses and approached him.

William was standing with his back against the wall, eyes looking around at all the other trainees around them. He looked lost and Albert almost felt pity for the sad expression on his face.

"William."

"Albert," William said, looking up. Though he tried to hide it, Albert had seen the look of relief that flashed across the younger boy's face.

"Excuse me," came a voice from behind Albert. Albert turned around to face a man who looked to be about in his mid-twenties. He had dark red hair that stuck out at odd angles, almost like a cartoon character. He dressed well, probably in the hopes of impressing the superiors. He could see from the way the man carried himself, his chest jutting out as he stood, that the man was full of himself. "I don't believe we've met. I'm George Harris, top of this year's graduating class."

"Albert Wesker," Albert replied, wishing he could have some kind of anecdote to follow his name.

"Ah," Harris said, shaking Albert's hand. "Where were you recruited from?"

"Harvard," Albert replied, hoping to impress this man with his Ivy League school.

"Good man," Harris said. "I myself graduated from Yale when I was recruited. Glad to see myself amongst good company." He then turned his attention to William. "Are you lost or something? Did you lose your high school field trip group?"

"No," William said, looking somewhat irritated by the suggestion that he didn't belong. "I'm William Birkin, another new trainee."

Harris laughed out loud until he realized that William was not kidding. "Really? This is what Umbrella has sunk to? Small kids?"

"I'm not a kid," William insisted.

"Do you really think you can handle this?" Harris asked William, tone dripping with distain for the younger boy. He crouched down slightly so that he would be eye level with the younger scientist, almost like one would do a small child. "The information they gave us is really complex, not something for children to be playing around with."

"Thank you for your concern Harris, but I assure it is highly unnecessary," William said, rolling his eyes.

"The hours are quite long," Harris continued, waving his hand as if to push William's comment aside. "Someone your age should not be subjected to the amount of stress that Umbrella puts on people."

"Until I crack under the pressure or completely freeze up in the labs, I think it would be best for you to keep your doubts to yourself," William snapped, the dark fire flaring in his eyes again.

Albert was once again caught off guard at the darkness inside William and then smirked. He was glad to know that the kid had some backbone.

Harris frowned deeply at William and turned away from him, going off to talk to some of the other employees. William sighed heavily and looked disappointed. From the way he handled it, Albert was almost sure that he had been a victim of this kind of treatment before and had hoped to avoid it here.

"You handled that well," Albert said to William, the smirk still on his face.

"Well, it's something I got used to," William said, regarding him warily. "A lot of people feel upset when they find out that someone younger then them is better at something."

Albert knew the last bit was supposed to be a jab at him but he ignored it. Perhaps, if he attempted to relate to William on this aspect, he'd be able to gain the boy's trust. It was the only thing that would separate him from being just another big bully. "I know what you mean."

A scoff followed that remark. "So what, you decided to be friendly now?"

"I am merely saying that you and I are quite similar. We have both faced similar stigmas because of our age and I think we can use that to our advantage."

"Really?" William crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yes," Albert said. "I was the youngest in my major at Harvard and most of the older students would either avoid me or try to sabotage my work. I just learned to adapt around them."

"Sounds about right," William said, still a little on guard. "What advantage are you talking about?"

"I wanted to discuss a proposition," Albert said conversationally. "I believe it would be beneficial for us to form some sort of partnership...an alliance, if you will."

"An alliance?" William said, cocking his head to the side. He squinted his eyes. "Why on earth would I want to be in an alliance with you?"

"I think it would work out for the both of us," Albert leaned closer to him, half smiling. "You and I are obviously years younger then everyone else here and are thus the most brilliant. If we work together, perhaps, in a few years, we can own the company."

"Attention!" A voice over the loud speaker called. Everyone in the room stilled and came to attention. "Attention! This is Doctor Marcus. Please be silent as we reflect on our company motto. Obedience breeds discipline. Discipline breeds unity. Unity breeds power. Power is life. Dinner is now ready in the common dining hall. You may proceed there."

As soon as the last bits of Dr. Marcus's speech disappeared, the rest of the trainees began to empty the lounge, heading toward the mess hall for dinner. Albert shifted so that he stood in such a way that he blocked William from leaving.

"So what do you say?" Albert said, holding out his hand. "It's you and me?"

"You and me," William nodded his head, reaching out and taking Albert's hand.

**Again, Reviews are appreciated! :)  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed and followed my story! This chapter is somewhat close to how I originally wrote it but I put it back in its chronological location. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!**

Chapter 3

September – October 1977

Albert flipped the page of the virology textbook he was supposed to be reading and glanced at his watch. It was just before five in the afternoon. He sighed, only one more hour till dinner was served.

He was currently sitting in the library, surrounded by the other trainees. The two hours before dinner were reserved for study hall where the trainees could catch up on their work or even pursue their own projects. Albert tended to use this time to look over virology so that he could continue his work with Marcus on his leeches and the Progenitor virus. Albert knew Dr. Marcus was looking for something specific with the Progenitor virus but he didn't know what.

Just then the doors to the library opened and everyone turned their attention to the newcomer. Marcus's assistant director Charles Logan walked in the door. He was a short, round man in his forties with brown hair that was greying and balding at the top. In truth, Albert hated him. He was always sneaking around and trying to suck up to Marcus by trading information between company administrations.

Logan's brown eyes scanned the room until they fell on Albert and he headed over. Albert frowned, not wanting to deal with the man right now but he didn't have any choice.

"Why hello there," Logan said, sounding overly cheery. "May I sit here?"

"I was actually-"

"Perfect!" Logan pulled up a chair next to Albert. "Albert, right?"

"Wesker," Albert said through gritted teeth. He really did not want to talk to this man right now.

"That's what I thought," Logan said, still sounding too nice. "How are you adjusting here?"

"Quite well," Albert said, crossing his arms over his chest. "What do you need?"

"Oh, I don't need anything," Logan said, scooting the chair closer to Albert. "I just wanted to double check on you…after what that little boy, Birkin, said."

Albert raised an eyebrow. "What did Birkin say?"

Logan looked around as if he was scared someone would over here. "Birkin said he didn't think you were up to the task…that he knew you were struggling."

Albert's eyebrow raised further up his head. "Birkin said that?"

Logan nodded his head and then looked down as if he was ashamed but Albert knew he was faking it. "I know I shouldn't have told you. It really was none of my business."

"No," Albert said, grabbing his books and leaving. "It wasn't."

* * *

"My precious virus," Marcus whispered to himself, probing the petri dish in front of him. "Look boys, look at how the virus affects the organisms."

Albert and William leaned closer to their teacher and watched as their teacher manipulated sample organisms with viruses.

"The Progenitor virus offers the host strength beyond its normal capabilities," Marcus said, adjusting the petri dish so his students could see it better. "'Stairway to the Sun,' that's what the Ndipayas called it."

Albert raised an eyebrow. He had only heard few details of the African mission that Spencer, Marcus, and Marcus's student at the time Brandon Bailey went on to acquire the virus. It fascinated him that such power could be found out in the wilderness.

"It's so marvelous…" The older man sighed, looking fondly at the experiment in front of him. A clock chimed from somewhere in the distance and Marcus looked up. "I have to make a phone call. I'll see you later boys. Continue to make notes on your observations."

"Where do you think he's off to?" William asked once Marcus was gone.

"Don't know," Albert said, still looking through some files. "Probably to go tell someone else about his precious virus."

A silence fell over them.

Albert continued looking at some files when he felt eyes on him. After a few more minutes of this feeling, he looked up to find William staring at him. "What?"

William jumped as if he had been prodded with a sharp object. "Nothing."

Albert rolled his dull blue eyes. "Don't lie. I've spent enough time with you to know when something is bothering you."

"Well," William said sheepishly, toying with a pen. "Will you be honest with me?"

"I don't see how not being honest would benefit me so I suppose so."

"It's just that…" William trailed off, looking extremely uncertain. "I think I've adjusted to life well here."

Albert stared blankly at William. What on earth was he going on about? "Alright. And?"

William shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just wanted you to know…in case…"

"In case?"

William shrugged again. "Just in case someone says something about it."

"Are you talking about Harris?" Albert asked, highly confused now.

"No."

"Then what are you talking about?"

"Never mind," William said. He cleaned up his workstation and grabbed his book bag. "I'm going to go study for that exam tomorrow."

"Do you want me to turn in your report to Sinclair?"

William nodded and handed Albert a manila folder. "I'll see you tomorrow."

The door slammed behind him and Albert stared at it for some time. Despite getting to know his roommate and partner, the younger boy was still quiet about his troubles here at the Training Facility. Albert knew that everyone was watching William to see if he'd fail and he was beginning to wonder if the younger boy was finally starting to crack.

* * *

Albert yawned as he walked down the main stairwell to the dining hall. The clock chimed six times from somewhere in the facility, reminding him how early in the morning it was. He liked going to breakfast at this time because very few people were awake. Umbrella trainees were generally starved for sleep so it was very unlikely that they would willingly give up the little that they got to have breakfast.

He entered the brightly lit dining hall, eyes skimming over the rows of mostly empty tables. Two consultant researchers who taught students, Dr. Firpo and Dr. Morris, were talking in hushed tones, three cups of coffee each spread out on their table. A few students, Henry Sarton, Leslie Baker, and Ashton West were sitting at a table, going over piles of papers set up in front of them. Assistant Director Logan was writing book at another table. Only Logan looked up when he entered the room and the short man's eyes fixed on him for a moment before he went back to scribbling into the small black notebook he had before him.

The teen rolled his eyes and moved to the buffet table that was spread out for the research members who lived onsite. It had been a little over a week since Logan had last approached him about William's claims but he was really starting to annoy Albert. It wasn't so much that he was doing anything, it was just that he was constantly showing up and watching him and William; hovering over them as they worked, always seeming to eavesdrop on their conversations.

Once he had grabbed a plate of eggs and pancakes, Albert sat down at his usual table in the corner of the room away from the others. He liked this spot because he was able to observe the other students as they came down for their meals. Since most of them ignored him, he was able to overhear bits and pieces of information about each of the employees. It was amazing how much he learned about people when no one knew he was listening.

"Good morning, Albert," Logan said, breaking the silence of the room as he walked over to him. He flashed him a cheerful smile and sat down across the table from the teen.

"It's Wesker," corrected Albert, not trying to hide any of the distaste he had for the assistant director. It was too early in the morning for him to have to deal with him and his current level of decorum was far below normal. The teen was glad he wore his sunglasses to hide the fact that he was glaring at the man.

"Yes, yes, of course, Wesker," Logan still had a friendly smile on his face. "How is the research coming along? I looked at your lab report for Sinclair's class and it seem quite promising."

"You looked at my lab report?" Albert raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, they are very well done. You are quite an intelligent young man," Logan reached across the table and patted him on the shoulder. "It's such a shame that someone as brilliant as you is so unappreciated by everyone around here. William gets all the recognition!"

Albert opened his mouth and then closed it, turning it into a frown at the backhanded compliment. Was Logan here just to insult him?

"But in all seriousness, I have something I need to discuss with you," Logan leaned in, his face suddenly becoming very concerned. "The researchers and I were discussing your and William's-"

"Birkin," Albert interjected crossly.

"-Birkin's appointment as Marcus's personal assistants and so many of us feel like you have significantly more potential than him and yet, you are put in the position of a baby sitter. Why are you second to him?"

Albert could feel his blood starting to boil. He was very patient when it came to dealing with these cretins but he did have a limit and Logan was rapidly pushing him towards it. He let out a deep breath through his nostrils and gritted his teeth. "And what of it?"

Logan's eyes suddenly shone with a triumphant glow. "I think you need to start looking into ways to make yourself a more important asset to the company. I know Birkin already has begun considering some...unconventional...methods to make sure he continues to stay on top."

"Are you suggesting that he is planning on sabotaging my work?" Albert asked, rolling his eyes behind the lenses. If there was one person he felt like he had a legitimate alliance with, it was William Birkin.

"You catch on very quickly," Logan said in a very patronizing tone.

The doors to the dining hall opened again and William lazily walked through them. He moved, rubbing the sleep from his eyes toward them but when he saw Logan, he stopped and looked unsure whether or not to approach. Albert quickly waved him off discretely under the table, signaling him to leave them alone. Though he had a questioning look on his face, he detoured toward the buffet.

"Anyway, keep this just between you and me," Logan said, standing up and turning away from him and looking over at William who was slowly making his way towards them. "I wouldn't want Birkin to have any more advantage over you then he already has."

Albert glared daggers at Logan's retreating form. Albert knew the man wasn't telling him this information out of the kindness of his heart. No, the man wanted something but what, Albert didn't know. Everything Logan had told him had to do with William backstabbing him but Albert didn't think William actually was plotting any sort of demise for him. What was the point in filling his head with these ideas anyway?

"You look angrier than usual," William commented, dropping his tray and sitting down in the seat Logan had previously occupied.

"It is truly unfortunate that physically assaulting our superiors is frowned upon," Albert hissed, stabbing his fork into his pancakes a little harder then he meant to. He turned his head to where Logan was back at his own table, a very smug look on his face. As soon as he settled back down, he pulled out that little black book and began writing rapidly.

"What did he say?" William inquired, starting to eat his own breakfast.

"Insulted me and claimed that you are coming up with 'unconventional methods' to make sure that you get higher up the corporate ladder then I do."

William opened his mouth and food tumbled out of it. "What?"

"Classy," Albert said, making a face at the chewed food.

"I haven't done anything like that," William said quickly. "You're the only person I trust here and I swear I wouldn't do that."

Albert looked at William hard and could see the boy was genuine. Besides, he knew William was alone here and wouldn't do anything to jeopardize his tentative alliance with Albert. "I didn't think you would."

William gave a sigh of relief and began chewing. "Why is he trying to start shit between us?"

"Has he talked to you at all?"

"Yeah," William said, glancing over his shoulder at Logan. "He said that you thought I wasn't adjusting to living here well."

Albert grunted and crossed his arms, suddenly remembering his conversation with William a few days ago. "He does want us to be at each other's throats then."

"Why?" William asked around a mouth full of food.

"I have no idea," Albert replied. "Don't speak when your mouth is full."

William rolled his eyes. "Yes, mother."

Albert leaned back. "Somehow though, I feel like Logan isn't doing this for his own amusement. I think someone is putting him up to this."

"Who?"

"If I knew, I would have said something by now or done something about it," Albert dully pointed out.

"One of the other trainees?"

"Perhaps."

"That still doesn't answer _why_ though."

"As soon as we figure out the who, the why will come soon enough," Albert resumed eating his breakfast. To be completely honest, he wasn't sure who would have any real gain in causing tensions between them. Even if one of them did off the other, one of them would still be here as Marcus's personal assistant. In order for it to be practical, the culprit would have to get rid of both of them to make any real advancement since Marcus had shown no interest in any of the other students.

The only other person he thought it could be was Spencer but that seemed both more unlikely and yet very likely at the same time. On the one hand, it seemed counter intuitive to have his two top trainees fighting because it would disrupt any advancements on the research. But on the other, perhaps having them at each other's throats would decrease results and mess up any plans Marcus had. It was a well-known fact that Marcus and Spencer no longer got along so that could be a plausible reason. Or it could just be that Spencer was bored and wanted entertainment. That was always a distinct possibility.

"Well I hope that all comes out soon," William sighed heavily. "I don't like the idea of someone trying to start all this between us."

It always seemed odd to him that William cared so much about their...partnership. It was a partnership of convenience sake, yet the other boy seemed to be taking their relationship to be that of close friends.

The two of them finished their breakfast in silence before heading to the labs. Albert didn't try to start conversation because he could tell William was still upset about Logan. Though he felt like he should try to ease his discomfort, he wasn't sure exactly how to go about it. He really did not like dealing with upset individuals. Talking about their work would make him feel better. "Have you finished your Progenitor virus papers?"

* * *

Albert's eyes were glued to the clock as its second hand moved agonizingly slow around its face. Only one more minute before class was over.

"Bored?"

Albert glanced over at William who sat in the desk directly across from him. The younger boy did not look up from the notes he was scribbling as Professor Sinclair, their virology professor, lectured in a mundane voice. "Perhaps."

William smirked but continued writing. Albert shook his head and looked down at his notepad in front of him. He had about one good page of notes in front of him while William had close to four.

"What's the point of taking notes if you can't even read them?" Albert hissed, brow furrowed as he tried to read William's notes.

William looked up for the first time since class started. He was about to speak but Professor Sinclair called the class to attention.

"I have your reports, here," Professor Sinclair said, placing a hand on the stack of manila folders on his desk. "They were much improved from the last two that you sent in and I expect this continued improvement for the rest of your time here in the Training Facility."

The class remained completely silent, eagerly awaiting their returned reports.

"When I call your name, please come forward to collect your report," Professor Sinclair told the class. "Once again, they are ordered starting with the best written."

Albert leaned back in his desk chair and glanced around at the class. Everyone already knew who the first name would be called. William's report had been called first both times while Albert's had been called second both times.

"First name I'm going to call is Wesker, Albert."

Albert blinked then stood up. He'd actually beaten William? Mechanically, he walked forward and took his report from Professor Sinclair. As he returned to his seat, he saw the envy in William's face despite the fact that the younger boy was trying to appear happy for him.

"Next, Harris, George."

William's mouth dropped open and he didn't even try to hide his shock. Albert had to admit he was surprised too. Both he _and_ Harris beat William?

Harris jumped up from his seat and swaggered up to the front of the class to grab his report, an annoyingly smug smile on his face. "Thank you, sir."

Once he grabbed it, he pranced back to his seat, knocking William in the back of his head as he did. William gasped and his face turned bright red with embarrassment.

"Next name is Boland, Matthew."

Albert thought William's jaw was going to unhinge from his face with how it was hanging open. With each name called that wasn't William's, the younger boy's face got redder and redder till Albert was worried he would die with shame.

Finally, Sinclair ended with Morris, Tom. "I hope everyone looks at my comments and adjust your procedures accordingly. Birkin, I need to see you about your report. You are all dismissed."

Albert watched as William slowly packed up his notes, looking as if he was going to approach his executioner. "What do you think happened?"

William shook his head. "I don't know."

"Having a little trouble with work are we?" Harris asked, coming up behind William and draping his arm across the younger boy's shoulder. He was still grinning ear to ear and Albert rolled his eyes, amazed someone like Harris was so arrogant when William had already clearly demonstrated his superiority plenty of times.

"Is this really the time?" Albert sighed heavily, pulling his glasses out of his pocket and slipping them on his face. He didn't really care about Harris bothering William except for that fact that William would complain to him about it later and he hated listening to those rants. "William, go talk to Sinclair."

William moved Harris's arm off him as if the man's arm was the vilest thing he had ever touched and continued packing up his belongings.

"How sweet," Harris drawled, crossing his arms over his chest. "He fights your battles for you too? You must really be in trouble if Wesker is doing everything for you."

William glared at Harris and opened his mouth to say something but Albert cut him off. "Just go."

William looked as if he wanted to protest but after another stern look from Albert, he seemed to give in and walked to Sinclair's desk. Once he was gone, Albert focused his attention back on Harris and gave the older man the darkest look he knew how to give. "Now you may have a giant stick of jealousy stuck up your ass but listen here and listen well. William is my partner in research, thus his attitude and state of mind directly influence my work. If you do anything that eventually screws me over, you will be damn sorry."

The stupid look on Harris's face slowly fell and was replaced with a cold stare. "Fine, you chose the side you want to be on, but don't come crying to me when he fails."

Harris whirled around on his heel and marched out of the classroom.

Albert sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. As much as he hated Harris, he knew he shouldn't write him off entirely or be completely at odds. Harris was extremely intelligent and extremely well connected. Logically, he was probably the smarter choice to be allied with but something about partnering with William felt right. Despite everything, the younger boy had grown on him.

"Albert!"

Albert turned around to see William stalking towards, him looking extremely annoyed. "Sinclair said he never got my report"

"What?" Albert asked, brow furrowing. "I turned it in with mine a week ago."

"Well he said it was never there," William countered, still looking accusatory. "Where else would it have gone? It isn't like anyone else looks at the reports."

Albert tilted his head. "Son of a…"

"What?"

"Logan," Albert said, grabbing his books and angrily walking out the classroom door.

"What about him?" William jogged to keep up to him. "What did he do?"

"He mentioned to me that he read my Sinclair report," Albert explained, taking large strides toward the stairwell leading to Logan's office. "With all the shit he's being trying to start between us, I bet he took your report that as well."

William stopped and then continued forward. "Where are you going?"

"To speak to Logan."

"What are you going to say?"

"I don't really know." Albert turned sharply down the corridor and stopped at Logan's office. Without knocking, he tried the handle and the door opened immediately.

The office was roomy, close in size to Albert and William's dorm room. Logan's desk was to the left and had two chairs on either side of it, one large and plush, the other a small uncomfortable looking wooden chair. On the other side, were multiple file cabinets with a single bookcase in the middle. Other than that, the office was empty of any personal artifacts that would make the office distinctly belong to Logan other then the plaque on his desk with his name.

"Where do you think he is?"

"I don't know," Albert muttered, looking around the room. Perhaps he could find some dirt on Logan and threaten him with it.

He decided to check the bookcase first as it would be the most obvious place to keep the book. The books were all science textbooks, ones that the trainees were given when they began their two years at Marcus's Management Facility. He flipped through them, going from shelf to shelf, until he got to the bottom shelf. There he found multiple notebooks with various research proposals and early experiments on the Progenitor Virus. Highly bored, he switched focus to the desk.

"He might be at the staff meeting," William suggested, standing by the door as if keeping lookout.

"What are you looking for?"

"Something to use as leverage," Albert said, moving toward the desk. "I want to show him that trying to separate us has real consequences."

"Oh," William said, eyes wide. "That's…good."

"Indeed."

Logan's desk was cleaned off with only a day planner open and marked across the top. The page was highlighted with a meeting at Arklay that would end around midnight due to Marcus's spastic work schedule. He found it odd that there wasn't a single photograph on the desk. Besides him and William, all the rest of the trainees and employees had at least one photograph of a wife, girlfriend, or family. Finding nothing of interest there, he started picking through all the drawers.

It didn't take him much time at all to open and look through the entire left side of the desk. Once again he found nothing worth noting besides a lot of old pens that no longer worked. He opened the first drawer on the right side of the desk and paused, glancing back at the top drawer on the left side. The right one was significantly shallower in depth than the left. Albert grinned, realizing he found exactly what he needed.

Albert knocked on the bottom of the drawer and recognized the hollow sound that resounded from the false bottom. He reached to the back of the drawer and his fingers brushed against a small knob that was the size of a dime. Once he pushed it, the false bottom sprung up and he quickly removed it. Hiding beneath the small wooden plank, was Logan's diary.

"What is that?"

"That stupid book Logan is always writing in," Albert said, sounding a little excited. He might have actually found something here. He gingerly removed it from the desk and opened it, eyes eagerly searching the papers for something of value. William leaned forward and Albert shifted the book so that the shorter boy could read as well.

_September 2__nd_

_A useless bunch of employees, as always. Where does headquarters find these idiots? We did get a couple of decent ones though, so I can't complain. William and Albert. They might have a future in this facility._

_September 25_

_Scholar Will, Practical Al. They are opposites. And they're always so competitive in everything they do. There's something ruthless and cruel about them both…_

Albert looked up as William started to snicker. "What is so amusing to you?"

William tried to hide his smile but failed. "He called you, Al." Once again he failed to control himself and William started laughing.

"And this is funny because…?"

"Can I call you Al?"

"No," Albert said shortly. "You're lucky I let you even use my first name."

"Please? You seem like such an Al."

"For someone so smart you seem to lack a firm grasp on the concept of 'no.'"

That just sent William into another bout of hysterics. Albert rolled his eyes and continued reading.

_October 7__th_

_Got a sudden call from the Director. It was to tell me to encourage the rivalry between those two! It's the first time since these facilities were build that Director Marcus has ever actually shown interest in anything other than his research. Well, whatever. Orders are orders. I'm going to have them tearing at each other's throats_…

Albert smiled as he continued to read the diary entries detailing Logan's failed attempts at causing trouble for him and William. This was exactly what he needed to give to Spencer in order to get Logan transferred.

* * *

They waited almost an hour before Logan finally started walking down the hall. Albert sat in Logan's chair while William stood next to him. When the door finally opened, Logan appeared and the older man jumped at seeing the two boys in his office.

"Hello Charles," Albert said, amused by the man's fright.

"Shit!" Logan gasped, clutching a hand to his chest. "Wesker, Birkin…what are you doing in my office? How did you get in here?"

"That is of no importance," Albert said, folding his hands on the desk. "We have a little matter to discuss with you."

"Really, boys," Logan chuckled, plastering a smile on his face. "It is about dinner time. Shouldn't you both be running off-?"

"Be quiet."

Albert blinked, surprised at how venomous William's words were, but thankful all the same. He placed the black book on the table. "We know that you are trying to get us to off the other."

"That's private property! You have no right to—"

"It's only private if no one can find it," countered Albert matter-of-factly. Logan reached out to take it back but Albert pulled it out of his reach. "No, no. I'll be keeping this for now."

"So? What's the point of all this?" Logan said slowly, eyes focused entirely on the journal. Albert could tell he was trying to plan his next move. "Well as you can see, it was clearly Marcus's—"

"Yes, we've read your diary," Albert said, crossing his arms over his chest. "That does not matter to us. Whether or not Marcus asked you to do something is not my concern. You creating problems for me, however, is my concern."

Logan smiled but Albert thought it looked like a grimace. "And what do you boys think you're going to do with this?"

"You see, Spencer takes great pride Umbrella," Albert said, still staring Logan down as harshly as he could. "Somehow I doubt he would appreciate anyone trying to start disturbances here."

"And, Spencer personally sought out me and Wesker," William said, piping up. "Once we take this information to him, how long do you think you're going to last here?"

Logan leaned back in his chair and didn't say anything.

"Now, Birkin and I are going to take these," Albert said, flipping to the back of the diary and ripping out the damaging pages. "However, should you continue to be an annoyance to me or Birkin here, I will take these pages, detailing your attempts at sabotage, to Mr. Spencer."

"It was Marcus's idea!" Logan exclaimed, exasperated. "He told me I had to cause problems for you both. Why don't you take those pages and show Spencer?"

Albert rolled his eyes and glanced at William. "Shall we?"

William nodded his head. Albert pushed back in the chair and stood up. He took the torn diary pages and slipped them into his pocket. "Good evening."

The two boys slid passed Logan and stepped into the hallway, making sure to shut the door behind them.

"I can't believe we just put him in his place," William said, sounding giddy as he skipped alongside Albert. "We just showed him who the boss is around here."

Albert cast a sidelong glance at his companion and smirked. Maybe having William as his partner wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

"Good morning boys," Dr. Marcus greeted them as they arrived in the lab early the next morning. "How was your evening?"

Albert and William exchanged knowing glances but didn't say anything.

"I have a surprise for you boys," Marcus said, motioning to the lab table. On it, there was a large figured covered with a plain white sheet. "Today, we will be working with human test subjects!"

Albert raised an eyebrow in surprise. It was nearly impossible to legally test on human cells, let alone an actual human body. This was really a treat indeed.

"Really?" William's eyes were so wide that Albert thought they'd fall out of his head if he wasn't careful.

"Indeed," Marcus said, grinning slightly as William's enthusiasm. The older man walked over to the lab table and pulled the sheet back with a flourish.

Albert opened his mouth and quickly closed it. Assistant Director Charles Logan's lifeless body was lying on the lab table, his eyes lifelessly staring upward. William sucked in a breath and looked as if he was about to say something but Albert silenced him with a look.

If Marcus noticed their reaction, he didn't say anything but instead motioned them closer. "Shall we begin?"

**Please follow and review!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter is mostly how I left it with a few more conversations thrown in. Thanks to Writer's Anonymous for looking this over!**

Chapter 4

End of July 1978

Albert stared up at the branches of the tree above, his lab coat spread beneath him with his arms folded under his head as a pillow. There was not a cloud in the sky, and the sun bore down on him through the leaves. His sunglasses rested on the bridge of his nose, shielding his eyes from the sun's piercing rays. He shifted, stretching his arms before putting them back under his head. He needed moments like this, alone, to keep relatively sane in this facility.

It had been almost a year since he began his training at Umbrella's Management Training Facility, and it was starting to wear on him. Learning to be a responsible scientist was dull with all the classes he, William, and all the other trainees were required to take.

The only thing he vaguely liked about any of this was Marcus's studies with the Progenitor Virus. Despite the weirdness of his teacher, Marcus provided him with material that actually sparked his interest.

Now that it was summer, he was having a hard time concentrating in the hot stuffy classrooms of the facility. He didn't understand why, with how wealthy Spencer was, he couldn't afford to equip the facility with air conditioning. It was next to impossible to remain focused on the lectures when the heat was this bad. He was so envious of the trainees who were almost finished with the program.

The noise of rustling grass made him turn his head. William was making his way over to him. His shirt was open and his tie hung undone around his shoulders. When he reached Albert's side, he shrugged out of his lab coat and tossed both it and his book bag to the ground and sat down, back against the tree.

"It's hot," William whined, pushing his sweaty bangs out of his face.

"Your powers of observation never fail to amaze me," Albert said dryly, closing his eyes under the shades. As much as he enjoyed William's company, he had come out here to be alone, and didn't want to listen to him complain about the heat; that's all he seemed to do since the heat wave began.

"There were a lot of people in the conference room when I left."

"I recall hearing people talking when I passed it."

"Are you going to go?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I wasn't formally invited."

"Do you know what its about?"

He sighed. So much for getting quiet alone time. "I would assume that it has something to do with future assignments. Many of the other trainees are almost finished with the program."

"Oh." William slouched against the tree trunk. "Hey, Al, did you notice how Dr. Clegg messed up on the example-?"

"We are not in class anymore, William," Albert said, trying to sound irritated. Usually, if he sounded annoyed enough, William would stop doing whatever was getting on his nerves. "And how often have I asked you to not call me Al?"

William let out a large huff and pulled his bag toward him to get some work. Once he got the papers he wanted, he settled into the grass next to him and began reading.

Thankful that his attention was finally elsewhere, Albert returned to staring up at the tree above him. His thoughts returned to how much he wished he were almost done with the training facility. He felt confined here, unable to work on things that truly interested in him.

"Wesker! Birkin!"

"Now what?" he groaned and propped himself up on his elbows. He spotted Professor Todd moving through the trees, looking terribly exhausted.

"Wesker, Birkin," the professor panted as he finally reached them. He leaned forward, putting his hands on his knees and gasping. "Everyone...is waiting for you...in the conference room."

"Why is everyone waiting for us?" William asked, sitting up. He leaned forward, looking very pleased that people were waiting for his presence.

In Albert's opinion, it seemed as if William viewed it as reassurance that he was an important individual.

"Dr. Marcus is making an announcement that everyone needs to hear," Todd explained, pointing back towards the facility.

Nodding silently, he stood up and brushed the grass off his lab coat. He waited for William as he shoved all his papers and notes back into his book bag before starting off with Professor Todd to the facility.

Silence fell over all the other trainees as they stepped into the conference room. All of their eyes focused on them. William shrunk back into him, almost as if doing so would make them all stop looking at them.

Albert stared them down behind his dark sunglasses, despite the feeling that they were talking about them before they walked into the room. Trying to appear unfazed by the stares of the others, he placed a firm hand in the middle of William's back and pushed the younger boy forward, towards one of the open benches.

Dr. Marcus stood up as soon as the two settled into their seats. He moved slowly, almost as if he was hindered by something.

"Before I begin this meeting," Marcus said, grasping the edges of the podium as if he needed its support to stand. "I would like to reflect on our company motto. Obedience breeds discipline, discipline breeds unity, unity breeds power, power is life."

"Power is life," Albert rolled his eyes as he finished with the rest of the trainees. Marcus made the trainees "reflect on the company motto" at least once a day, making the whole thing seem like a cult ritual to him. But he figured if it secured his job, he'd do it smiling.

"My students," Marcus said, holding his hands out to them. He gave them a kind smile, one that a proud father would give his children. "I am glad that all of us are here together today."

"Yeah right," someone whispered from behind Albert and William. "I've been here for two years and I've only seen him twice."

The boys exchanged gleeful looks, knowing that they were the only ones who got to see Marcus on a relatively consistent basis. But they also knew it was why so many of the other trainees despised them so much. It never bothered them because they knew they deserved this special attention.

"This meeting was called to let you know of some important news." Marcus paused, his eyes looking a little glazed over. "I have been told that, as of tomorrow, July twenty-ninth, this facility will be shut down."

Murmurs of surprise and confusion washed over the crowd of trainees. The whispers were quickly replaced by cries of outrage and concern filled the room as they tried to grasp what that would mean for their future.

Albert glanced at William and could tell from the expression he wore that he also had no idea what to think about the new development. He thought back to the last time the two had seen Marcus to see if he had made any indication that the facility would be closing, but couldn't remember anything off about him.

"They are shutting down the Management Facility?" William looked bewildered. "Why would they do that?"

"I don't know," Albert replied, equally as confused. His eyes wandered over to where Marcus was standing, trying to regain control of the room.

"Attention, attention," Marcus said in a calming voice, holding his arms up. "Please be silent." As soon as the room quieted down, he continued with his speech. "Our company's great president, Mr. Spencer has decided to have other plans for this facility. I understand that many of you might be worried about your futures but there is no need. All of you will be given assignments at one of Umbrella's many different branches, which I will distribute to you in just a moment. For those of you who require more training to finish your degree, extra classes will be provided for you at the location you are assigned to. Thank you and have a good day."

When Marcus finished speaking, the trainees moved around him, eager to get their assignments. Albert stayed back, feeling slightly uncertain about this new turn of events. Why would Spencer close down the training facility so suddenly?

Something seemed off, and it bothered him to no end that he couldn't figure out what. But on the other hand, he was relieved that he would finally be working somewhere other then the Management Training Facility. It was the chance he has been waiting for!

"Hey, Al?" William asked, breaking Albert's thoughts. He was biting his lower lip and looking at his hands in his lap. "We're going to be transferred to the same location, right?"

"Going to miss me if we aren't?" Albert asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," William snapped, a little color rising in his cheeks. He folded his arms tightly over his chest and nodded toward the line of trainees. "I just don't want to get stuck being partnered with Harris or some of the other morons over there."

Albert smirked. Ever since the two had made the arrangement their first day here, William had all but attached himself to his hip. He rarely went anywhere without his older partner, and always consulted him for just about everything. He supposed it was some kind of protective mechanism, a way to not get pushed around in this place. It didn't bother him so much that William was so clingy because it saved him from having to deal with all the other idiots. It was a relationship that benefited them both, and Albert knew that William would not give up the one friend he had made while here.

"Did you say my name, Birkin?" Harris asked, swaying as he walked over to them. He had a piece of paper in his hand and gave them a smug smile. "Afternoon, Albert."

"George," Albert returned, a fake smile stretched across his thin lips. Just last week Harris had gotten under William's skin and Albert had to spend a good hour consoling the younger boy. He really was not in the mood to do so again.

"What do you want?" William asked, moving closer Albert.

Harris grinned back, his dark green eyes flashing. "I was curious to see what position you received. I don't know what they could give someone with the maturity level of a five year old!"

Albert sighed. "We haven't gotten ours yet. Where were you assigned to?"

Harris took a piece of paper out of his back pocket and held it up for both of them to see. Albert took off his glasses and read the paper. "Chicago?"

"Indeed," Harris said proudly, puffing his chest. "I was the only one assigned there. Most of these suckers were assigned to France, China, Rockfort, you know, crap locations."

"Did anyone get assigned to the Arklay Facility?" William asked quickly.

"Nope," snapped Harris, looking somewhat bitter. Everyone knew the Arklay Facility was where Umbrella's most prestigious researchers were sent. "But, there is always chance for advancement."

"Ah, there you are boys," Dr. Marcus came up to them, holding sheets of paper. "Both of you are going to be employed at the Arklay Research Facility as Chief Researchers. I felt that both of you were advanced enough in your abilities that you could handle the job. The Lab Manager and Mr. Spencer have both approved of my suggestion and you will begin immediately."

"Thank you," they said in unison. Albert's pride swelled at this revelation, and he immediately looked forward to starting. He had skipped all of the lower rungs and had gone straight to the top of the ladder. He glanced over at William and could see that he too, was experiencing a rush that inflated his ego.

"A helicopter will arrive tomorrow to take both of you to the Arklay Facility," said Dr. Marcus, looking at them carefully, perhaps noticing how this new position had just given them a rush of power. "Arklay is under Spencer's control so he will be watching you both. Make sure you do not displease him. Good afternoon."

Marcus bowed slightly to them and backed away. Albert watched him leave then turned back to Harris and had to hold back his laughter. Harris's face was reaching purple with rage and disbelief.

"I guess some people don't need to worry about advancing," William said, still looking too shocked to actually make it a good dig at Harris.

"Well…" Harris said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'll be there a year from now to pick up the pieces of the failed facility." He gave them one final smirk and then swaggered off to join the rest of the trainees.

William opened his mouth to say something but Albert squeezed his shoulder. "Don't. He isn't worth your time."

* * *

The last day of July, the helicopter arrived at the Management Training Facility to pick up the two boys. Neither of the boys had ever flown in a helicopter before and William seemed especially excited about the trip. He kept his face glued to the window, marveling at the views from the height. Albert found the flight quite enjoyable but kept his excitement to himself. He had to keep some level of maturity so that everyone would take them seriously.

"There it is!" William exclaimed suddenly. He pointed out the window, smiling extremely widely. "There's the Spencer Estate!"

Albert scooted closer to him and looked out the window. Below them was a large expanse of forest, and right in the center of a clearing was the top of the Spencer mansion. The building was far enough away from Raccoon City to ensure privacy of all the experimentation going on but still close enough that should something bad happen, the researchers would be able to get to the safety of the city. But despite the mansion's true purpose, it looked rather ordinary from this height.

"It doesn't seem that special," Albert leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. "Not something to be this excited about."

William rolled his eyes. "Do you ever get excited about anything?"

He tilted his head forward so he could look at William over the rim of his sunglasses. "There are very few things in life worth getting excited for."

The helicopter touched down on a helipad not far from the mansion. Waiting on the helipad was a middle-aged man dressed in a white lab coat. His brown hair was starting to grey at the edges and he had kind brown eyes framed by wrinkles. He smiled warmly at them when they exited the helicopter and Albert was surprised that he almost believed the man's smile was genuine.

"Welcome," the man said, reaching out with his hand to greet them. He took Albert's hand first. "My name is Mark Johnson, now the former Chief Researcher of this facility. You must be Doctor Birkin?"

"Actually, this is Doctor William Birkin," Albert inclining his head toward William. Normally he would have been annoyed at the mix up but the man seemed actually pleased to meet them. "I'm Doctor Albert Wesker."

"Ah," Johnson seemed a little taken aback by the correction but he quickly recovered. "Well then, welcome Doctor Wesker, Doctor Birkin." Johnson shook William's hand.

"Thank you," William said politely.

"I'm glad you both arrived so early," Johnson said, glancing at a watch on his wrist. "A majority of the staff has yet to go on lunch. You'll be able to meet them before they head out. Please, follow me." Johnson motioned for them to follow and started to head towards the mansion.

During their walk, William had pulled out some of the notes he had made on the Ebola project and was going over them. Albert assumed he was doing so because he hoped to impress Spencer, should the man ask them about it.

"Will we be meeting with Mr. Spencer?" Albert asked. He had hoped the President would be there for introductions. It would make a statement to the other researchers to show that he and William were not a team to mess with. He also hadn't seen Spencer since the man had offered him a job at Umbrella two years ago. There were so many questions swirling in his head about the reason the Management Facility was closed and he hoped that meeting with Umbrella's President would answer some of them.

The smile on Johnson's face fell. "Trust me, you don't want to meet with Spencer."

William looked up for the first time since they started walking but didn't say anything. Albert shrugged and the two continued forward.

After walking about five minutes, the three entered the clearing surrounding the mansion. It had a large entry, with a tall dark oak door. Columns stretched from the ground to the shingled roof. It almost fit what Albert's perception of Spencer; traditional and elegant, yet had a forbidding feel to it. While on the ride over, both William and Albert had been briefed on the layout of the area so there was no need for a tour.

"The labs are down in the basement," Johnson explained once they were inside. He showed them to an elevator. "All of the labs are down three floors."

The elevator door clicked open and the boys followed Johnson inside. Albert leaned casually against the wall behind him, arms crossed while William, completely oblivious, had his face buried in his notes.

The long descent finally came to a halt and the three stepped out into a large laboratory. Computers and experimental equipment filled the room. The center of the room had a large table with a horribly mutated woman chained to it. Her skin was discolored and her large humpback caused her to curl awkwardly on the table. Researchers surrounded her, all taking notes as they studied the woman.

William took a step closer to the woman and muttered something. Albert couldn't tell if it was praise, cursing, or just a general comment.

"Uh, everyone? I'd like to have your attention please," Johnson said loudly.

The scientists in the room stopped what they were doing and faced them. Many of them had looks of surprise when their eyes fell over Albert and William.

"Everyone, this is Doctor Birkin and Doctor Wesker, our new Chief Researchers."

A stunned silence followed Johnson's announcement. Albert could almost hear the spiel going through each of their heads: 'What? They are the new Chief Researchers? My god, they are practically children!' He had heard it so often it disgusted him.

"Doctor Birkin and I are pleased to be working here," he cut it, taking control of the situation. "We expect all of you to work hard and we thank all of you in advance for your complete cooperation. Now if Doctor Johnson would be so kind, we would like to begin introductions."

Johnson looked surprised at how quickly he had taken control but nodded and started to take them around the room for formal introductions. Albert concentrated on memorizing their names and what their jobs were, knowing full well that William would most likely forget to. Most of them were just consultant researchers who were going to be answering to them now. He tried his best to appear pleasant and normal, making small talk for both of them since William's social skills were inadequate at best. He could only hope that they were making a good impression to their new subordinates.

After meeting with all of them, Albert excused them so that they could settle into their new labs. Their current work on the T-Virus had been shipped ahead of them and Albert couldn't wait to begin research again. Dr. Johnson offered to show them to their new labs before going on lunch.

Their private lab was at the end of a long hallway, completely isolated from all the other labs which were located on the floor above. It was completely clean, with two desks and various file cabinets spread across the room. Two new computers were situated on each of the desks as well as state of the art microscopes. Albert was in awe of the whole thing. He especially smiled at the plaque on the wall with his name engraved on it with the words Chief Researcher under it.

"Besides this, there is a private office off to the side there," Johnson explained. "Usually my assistant, Victoria works in there. She will be working for you both instead now."

As if on cue, there were two short knocks on the door and a woman entered their lab. She was thin with wavy dark brown hair that fell about midway down her back. She had high cheekbones and blue-green eyes that were framed by dark lashes. Her nose was small and slightly upturned. She wore the standard white Umbrella lab coat over a lavender blouse and black skirt that reached to her knees. Albert could tell that she was young, roughly the same age as he.

"Doctor Johnson are these the new Chief Researchers?" She asked, her voice sounded slightly raspy.

"Ah yes," Johnson nodded. "Victoria, this is Dr. William Birkin and Dr. Albert Wesker."

Victoria smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Albert said. He waited for William to say something but he never did. Albert cast a sidelong glance at the younger boy and had to hold in a groan. The younger scientist's mouth was hanging open slightly and his eyes were firmly trained on Victoria.

Victoria blushed slightly and held out the stack of paper in her hands. "I brought your mail."

Albert sighed heavily and elbowed William. The younger boy jumped, as if he was shocked and took the paper from her. "Oh, thanks."

An awkward silence followed and Johnson cleared his throat. "Why don't we let these boys settle in? I still need a few of those Trevor files on my desk."

"Yes, sir," Victoria said and followed Johnson outside. The door clicked shut behind them and Albert let out a long sigh.

"We are finally here," William breathed, still clutching the mail.

"Indeed," Albert said, dropping down into one of the chairs. "Could you be any more awkward?"

"I didn't do anything!" William protested, starting to look at the papers. "Here"

William pulled a couple pieces of paper and two rings of keys. He passed one of each to Albert and began reading the paper.

Albert held the keys in his hands, studying each of them closely. They were labeled with letters and numbers, indicating the floor and level of security they allowed the owner to pass through. He smiled, feeling the rush of power that these keys gave him. He could go anywhere and do anything he wanted, whenever he wanted. This place belonged to them now.

"I'm so glad we are getting new identification cards," William said, indicating the paper he held in his hand. It was an order form for their new identification badges. "I really hated my old one. The picture made me look like a small child."

"You are a child," Albert smirked at William good-naturedly. "But I agree, it is definitely time for you to get a new card. You've grown quite a bit since last year."

"I have!" William said, flexing his rather small arm muscles. Albert just sighed heavily, shaking his head.

The rest of the day was spent mostly organizing their lab and securing Ebola samples and documents for William to read. William was very particular about what supplies he needed and where they were kept.

Finally, after all of the researchers had come in one by one to sign out for the night, Albert and William took a break and admired their work. The lab resembled their personalities; William's side a disorganized mess and Albert's neat and empty. Satisfied, the two scientists relaxed in the empty facility, glad that it was just the two of them.

"Alone at last," William breathed, sitting in one of the chairs. He let out a dark laugh. "It's only our first day and I've already had my fill of those people!"

Albert snickered. "That's not a good start."

"I know!"

"We need to do something to take your mind off them," he said in mock seriousness, dangling the keys in front of William's face. "Want to go exploring?"

**Reviews are always welcome! Special thanks to Littlevamp and Jillvalentine for the reviews! They mean a lot :)  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**I know its a little late but this is a Christmas chapter. Enjoy!**

Chapter 5

December 1978

Albert didn't particularly like the holidays. He couldn't decide if this dislike was a product of how he had been raised, as a foster child living with a woman who didn't like to celebrate a holiday for a religion she didn't support, or if he was just against the unwarranted cheeriness that everyone began to exhibit.

It had all begun when the snow first fell the second week of December. The employees began decorating their workstations with miniature Christmas trees and various religious depictions of the birth of Christ. Christmas carols played on the radio all day long and the coffee was replaced with hot coco. They spoke to each other in lighter tones and smiled more often, a bizarre notion considering they were all Umbrella Employees.

To coincide with the cheery mood, everyone was looking forward to the week of vacation they were given for the holidays. Plans of family gatherings, skiing trips, and excursions to exotic places filled the workplace chatter. Albert tried not to think about these holiday plans because he didn't have any.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. There was his empty house in Martha's Vineyard to go back to and perhaps Alex, would be there to spend Christmas with him. As soon as this thought passed through his head, he blocked it out. Alex was a top Umbrella Official who worked on may different projects; there was no way she'd be free for the holidays and it was foolish to believe that he would spend the holidays with anyone but himself.

There was always the option to stay at Arklay for the holidays. True the labs shut down for the week, but the dormitories would still be open for him to use. Perhaps Spencer or even Marcus would be here as well and he wouldn't be entirely alone. Although the idea of staying with either of them for the holidays didn't have much appeal either.

He almost wished that they were only given three days off like they did at the Training Facility, rather than the whole week. Due to how intense Marcus's training program was, the trainees were only given the weekend off and most of them, including William, chose to remain behind at the facility because it wasn't long enough to return home. For the first Christmas in years, he wasn't alone.

Though he didn't want to admit it, he was semi hopeful that William or even Victoria would also remain at Arklay so that he wouldn't be the only one here. It wasn't that he was bothered by being alone, no, he quite enjoyed it. He just couldn't help the stupid feelings of loneliness that crept over him during this time of year.

Albert checked his watch and felt an instant wave of relief. It was almost six in the evening, which meant that they would be able to take a break for dinner soon. It was only a few days till their vacation and everyone was working twice as hard to finish all the work that needed to be done before it started. At the moment, he was alone in the lab. Twenty minutes ago, William had left to call his family and Victoria was in the next room filing some papers he gave her.

Taking a deep breath, Albert walked over the phone and slowly dialed Alex's private number. The phone rang three times before Alex picked it up.

"Alexandra Wesker."

Albert felt the words he planned to say die in his throat at how bored and irate her voice sounded. He could see her, sitting at her desk, rolling her eyes at the fact that someone interrupted her work.

"Hello?" Her tone when from being irritated to borderline angry.

"Alex," Albert said, clearing his throat and regaining some of his confidence. "It's Albert."

"Albert," Alex repeated, her voice sounding as if the name was foreign to her. He was about to remind her that he was her adopted son when she sighed. "Yes, Albert. Do you need something?"

"No, I just-"

"What do you need?" Alex cut him off. Albert could hear the noise of glass and items being shuffled. "Money? A favor? Did you do something stupid and get fired?"

"No, I-"

"Then what?"

"Are you going to be home for the holidays?" Albert said quickly before she could interrupt him again.

"No."

"Oh," Albert mentally kicked himself for making this phone call. All of their conversations went in this manner and it was stupid of him to expect something different after all these years.

"I have important work to do in France," Alex told him coldly. "Now, Albert, I'm very busy. Don't interrupt me again unless you actually have something important to tell me."

"Of course," Albert worked to keep out the bit of hurt that was creeping into his voice.

"Doctor, who is that?" A second voice came onto the line.

Alex laughed darkly and answered the man. "Oh, no one important. How have the experiments-"

The line went dead with a loud _click_. Albert clenched his jaw and slammed the phone down on the receiver. That was one thing he never understood about that her. She was the one who took him in as a child, if she really didn't want the job, why had she done it? He was five years old at the time, it wasn't like it was his choice. "Bitch."

"Everything ok?"

"Fine." Albert didn't turn around because he knew his cheeks were red and he didn't want Victoria to see him hurting. He kept his back to her and cleaned up his papers. "Have you seen Will?"

"He said he was going to your room to make a phone call," Victoria answered. Albert could hear her heels clicking on the linoleum as she approached him. She placed a number of papers onto his desk and a hand on his back. "Are you sure you are ok?"

"Yes," Albert said, stepping back into her touch. For some reason, it took him more effort then he thought to do so.

"I am going to dinner. If I see him, I will tell him you were looking for him."

"I was actually about to head there myself. I'll walk with you."

Victoria nodded and the two of them began walking to the dining hall. While they still didn't talk much, Albert had come to the conclusion that she could be included in the very small list of people he could stand in this facility. If anything, she was another buffer between him and the other morons of this place.

"Do you have plans for the holidays?"

He rolled his eyes at her question. This was not particularly something he really wanted to discuss with her or with anyone now, just after his phone call with Alex. When people found out that he had nothing to go home to except an empty house, they felt sorry for him and seeing the pitiful looks they gave him only angered him. Albert Wesker didn't need pity from anyone. "Nothing worth noting."

"That sounds exciting," Victoria gave him a sly smile. "Do you always go into such detail when describing your plans?"

Albert cast a sidelong glance at her. "I don't have any family or friends to go home to, so no, I don't have any plans."

The bluntness of his statement caused her to blush but it served her right. She was always asking too many questions and while it came in handy, he hated when this skill was turned onto him. "Oh...I...had no idea..."

They continued on their way in silence and before long reached the dining hall. It was decorated with strings of garland and a small Christmas tree was in the corner near the buffet table. Albert noticed the spring of mistletoe hanging over the entrance to the dining hall, draped in Christmas lights. He wasn't sure if Victoria noticed it as the two passed under the doorframe but he pretended not to.

William was already sitting at the table, playing with his plate of food and sipping his overly large cup of eggnog. Albert rolled his eyes, hoping no one spiked the eggnog with how much his partner was drinking.

"Did the phone call with your family go well?" Victoria asked him as she and Albert took their usual seats beside him.

The younger scientist let out a large sigh. "I suppose...I really don't want to go home though."

"Why?" Albert asked, genuinely curious. In the year and a half that he knew him, he never heard William mentioned his family. He knew William had a family-it was impossible to exist without one-but he never associated his partner as a person included in a family unit. In a way it made him feel a stronger sense of kinship with William because they both lacked any familial ties.

"Being at home is difficult," William admitted quietly. He pushed his mash potatoes back and forth across his plate awkwardly.

"How so?" Again, Albert was genuinely curious.

William shrugged. "It's mostly my dad…"

Albert tilted his head to the side and studied William. He never understood families because they always seemed to cause problems for each individual person. The people he knew also didn't have much in the way of families. His Princeton roommate's parents were divorced and he never saw his father and Umbrella Employees never had time outside the labs to start one. The only time he ever saw a family unit that worked were the ones he saw in the movies or on television.

"Hey, Al," William said, bring him back to the present. "Did you ever call Alex to see if she will be home?"

"Alex?" Victoria asked, eyes darting back to Albert. She gave him a look and he realized that she knew exactly who he talked to in the labs.

"Albert's adoptive guardian," William answered for him. "Not that she is ever around though, she's a top Umbrella employee. The last time he saw her was-"

"When I agreed to work here," Albert offered, realizing just how long ago that was. "I did call her and she's going to be in France."

"So you don't have any plans?" William asked quickly.

"No, I don't," Albert confirmed. "I'll be sitting here, with Spencer and Marcus, enjoying the _wonderful_ holidays, while all of you are spending it with your family."

"Then we can both stay here!" William said excitedly. He was grinning widely and his manner suddenly reminded Albert of an excited puppy. "I have been looking for an excuse to not go home and the fact that you're staying here is perfect. I'd rather spend Christmas with you than with my family."

Albert stared at William from behind his glasses, at a loss for words. "I'm going to get my dinner," he said quickly before standing and making his way over to the buffet table.

He needed to get away to collect his bearings. No one had ever chosen to be with him over anyone before. The only time it ever happened was in his science classes where everyone only wanted to be with him to take advantage of his higher intelligence.

He shook his head to clear it and focused on fixing his plate for dinner. For the last week, the cooks had made a special meal every night in light of the holiday season. Today there was a large turkey, mashed potatoes, yams, stuffing, salad, and much more. It was so much better than the usual selection of pasta and hamburgers they usually had to chose from.

"Good evening, Wesker," Doctor Johnson said, coming up behind him and taking a plate.

"Good evening," Albert replied, still conflicted but managing to remember his manners. "How are you?"

"Very well," Johnson smiled at him. "Excited for the holidays?"

Albert frowned. Did _everyone_ have to ask him about his holiday plans? "I haven't thought much about."

"We close in two days and you haven't thought about your plans?"

"Yes, I know."

"If you don't have any, you can stay with me and my family," Johnson said, carving the Christmas roast and putting it onto his plate. "Ms. Wesker's dedication to her work and complete disregard for her personal life are well known."

Albert felt a slight blush creep onto his cheeks. He _really_ didn't want to talk about this, not with anyone. It was bad enough that William knew but now Johnson as well?

"Your offer is very...generous..." Albert told him slowly and began picking out his food. "But I think I'll be just fine here. I'm quite used to being alone."

"Ah, I figured as much," Johnson said, giving him a small smile. "But the offer is still there."

Albert opened his mouth to form some kind of response but his mind failed him. He was not used to this amount of kindness from people who weren't expecting things in return. By the time his brain snapped back into action, Johnson had already returned to his table with Dr. Ross and Dr. Smith.

Realizing he was standing there like an idiot, Albert grabbed his food, making sure to take a large glass of eggnog, and walked back to the table.

"Sorry, but I stay with my uncle over the holidays," Victoria was telling William when Albert set his tray down next to William.

"Oh," William sounded more then a little disappointed. "Well, I think it would be fun if you stayed as well."

Victoria laughed softly and shook her head. "That is very kind of you."

William smiled awkwardly at her compliment and looked away. Albert rolled his eyes and dropped his tray down next to Victoria. He took a large gulp of eggnog and sighed. The bitterness of the rum burned his mouth and he quickly swallowed. The cooks always put more rum then necessary in the drink to help calm the nerves of all the tightly wound employees.

"I'm going to get dinner," Victoria said, standing up. "Please excuse me."

"I kinda wish she could stay with us," William said quietly, once she was out of earshot.

Albert snorted and took another large sip of his eggnog. "You really need to find a new hobby to look into if you have time to focus on a romantic relationship."

William made a face. "Well _some_ of us have a normal and healthy libido. It's your anti-sexual behavior that deviates from the norm."

Albert didn't justify his claim with a response and instead finished eating. Sure, he found Victoria attractive because she was the only female under the age of thirty in this facility but that didn't mean anything would come of it. Relationships in this kind of work environment never worked out well and he didn't need any uncomfortableness between him and his assistant.

"You do remember company policy, don't you?" Albert asked, eyebrow raised.

"So?" William retorted. "Dr. Bouffard and Dr. Adey are always screwing each other in the broom closet during lunch breaks. That's much worse then what I am doing. I don't see how any innocent flirtation is going to get me in trouble."

Albert was about to say something when Victoria reappeared by his side.

William spent the rest of the meal trying in various ways to get Victoria to spend at least some of the holidays with them. Albert found his attempts quite pathetic and really wished the younger boy would stop embarrassing himself.

As they ate, the other scientists filed out, most of them leaving for an early start to their vacation. Eventually Victoria also departed, leaving William and Albert to head back to their dorm room.

"Hey, look!" William exclaimed, pointing upward as they passed under the main doors. "It's mistletoe!"

Albert looked upward and then glanced over at William who met his gaze. The younger scientist's cheeks turned red and he quickly averted his eyes, laughing nervously.

"What?" Albert asked exasperatedly. The holiday season really needed to end so people would stop acting like morons.

"You're supposed to kiss the person you are standing under it with," William explained, laughing sheepishly as he did. "And right now, we are both standing under it."

"I am _not_ kissing you," Albert said flatly, walking away from him, leaving him under the door. Immediately, William ceased laughing.

"That's not what I meant!" William yelled, chasing after him. "Al! That isn't what I meant!"

* * *

In the next few days, the two of them quickly became the only people left in the facility. All the labs were locked, leaving only the cafeteria, library, and recreation room open to them. It reminded Albert of the first night they stayed at Arklay, empty and fun to explore.

"Can I ask you something personal, Al?" William asked their third day alone while hanging out in the recreation room. The room was fairly large with numerous couches, a television set, pool table, and a grand piano. It was one of the few rooms that wasn't science related and lots of the employees spent their break time in there.

Albert looked up from the book he was reading, _The Origin of Species_, in confusion. The younger boy was holding Albert's glasses and twirling them by the stem in his hand. The owner of the glasses reached out to take them back but William stepped away, keeping them out of reach. "If you must. Give those back."

William turned his back to Albert and walked to the other side of the recreation room. Albert frowned, knowing he only did so took keep him from stealing the glasses back.

"Why do you wear these things?" William asked, slipping them onto his own face. Albert resisted the urge to cringe as his partner's too long dirty bangs put grease streaks across the lenses. The rectangle frames did not fit his round face and made him look utterly ridiculous.

"Because they make me more appealing to the fairer sex," Albert answered dryly, holding his hand out for them.

William laughed loudly. The boy stood up straighter, making sure to keep his shoulders back and tilted his chin down, mimicking Albert's stance. The older boy really hoped that he didn't look as, well, dumb as William did in that stance. "No, really. Why do you always wear them?"

Albert sighed. "Because people say the eyes are a window to the soul. As soon as people can see into your soul, they can read you. Once they can read your emotions and intentions, you are vulnerable. That's why."

"That's..." William tilted his head to the side. Albert couldn't tell where William was looking due to how dark the glasses were. Not knowing where William's gaze was unnerved him a bit. Granted, this was why he wore the glasses and having this turned on him irritated him.

The older boy took a few swift steps and snatched them off William's face. He groaned when he saw the dirty streaks left from William's bangs and wiped them off on his sweater. "Do you have something better to do besides stealing my personal effects?"

William laughed and dropped down at the piano. He rested his fingers on the keys and after a moment, began to play. Albert immediately recognized Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.

"Play something else," Albert told him, leaning lazily against the piano. As much as he liked Moonlight Sonata, the melody was starting to get on his nerves. It was Spencer's favorite song and it could be found everywhere in the facility. It was also the key to get out of the facility, meaning that it was played every time someone left. Hearing it eight or nine times a day in a row got the song on his nerves. "Fur Elise or something like that."

"You like Mozart?"

"Mozart? We have something on the music rack other then Beethoven?" Albert asked, quizzically looking over at his partner. William smiled and began playing Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca. Albert watched in slight awe as William's fingers rapidly danced across the keys, playing the song in perfect tempo. His partner's blue eyes were fixed off into some distant point and Albert realized he was playing this all from memory.

"Was that better?" William asked once he finished playing the song.

Albert raised an eyebrow. "Too cheery. Doesn't fit your personality, or mine."

"Hmm," William pursed his lips into a tight line and then smirked. He placed his fingers on the keys and played the beginning dramatic notes of Toccata and Fugue. Sine he was playing it on a piano, the song lacked the intensity that it would have on an organ and Albert shook his head.

"Wrong season for that, isn't it?" Albert said, pushing off from the piano and falling back onto the couch he was previously sitting on. "Besides, it needs to be played on an organ."

"You wanna play something?"

Albert shrugged. He was nowhere near as musically inclined as the other boy and the extent of his musical knowledge was limited to all the Beethoven songs that he had to use for admittance into various rooms about the mansion. If he really wanted to, he knew he could improve his skill but he didn't see any real use for it in his current line of work.

"We could play chess," William suggested.

"And let you beat me? I don't think so." Albert shook his head. "I'm bored of this anyway. Let's go."

"Alright, whatever you say."

Albert pushed out of the recreation room and started walking to the dormitories.

"I can't believe we've been here for six months," William commented, catching up to him. "It doesn't even feel that long. Remember when we first got here?"

"This season isn't good for you, Will," Albert said, slightly amused as William fell into step. "It's making you nostalgic."

"You know what we could do?"

"What?" Albert glanced over at him.

"Remember when we went exploring and that one room was locked?"

"Yes," Albert said, slowing to a stop. "What about it?"

"Well, I thought that since we are the only two people here, we could try breaking in. I want to know what is so off limits in that room," William said, taking the stairs upward to Spencer's private offices. As they discovered their first night here, their keys could open any room in the building except for Spencer's private office and another room that was directly next to it. The door was completely unmarked and they had tried everything short of breaking the door down to get into it.

Sighing and figuring there was nothing better for the two of them to do, Albert followed William up the stairs and down the hallway to Spencer's Office. "And how exactly are we going to do this? It isn't like he's given us access you know."

William smiled and produced a key from his pocket, smaller then the normal set they had.

"Where did you get that?"

"The maintenance man," William explained causally. "He left his keys on the desk one day and I asked Victoria to make a copy. I really want to see what's in that room."

"Oh good, you'll get all three of us fired."

William rolled his eyes and got to the door. "I know you've been thinking about it too. Think of it as a Christmas present from me."

The younger boy pushed the key into the door, the latch clicked and the door swung open. It was larger than one would initially expect and lined with file cabinets. Some of the cabinets had padlocks on them that even William's small key didn't open.

"What do you think is in here?"

"I'm not sure," Albert said, slightly in awe at the number of file cabinets. "Clearly something important." Albert skimmed the labels on the rest of the cabinets. Quickly, the cabinet labeled "Personnel" caught his attention and he opened the drawer for employees S through Z.

Each of the folders had a strip of tape that was color-coded; blue for the pharmaceutical branch of Umbrella, white for the bio-organic weapons department, and red for top officers. The name of the employee was written under the tape in big bold letters.

Albert skimmed them until he got to his own folder, _Wesker, Albert_ that placed right in front of _Wesker, Alexandra_. He grabbed the folder and flipped it open.

The first page had a recent picture of him and a list of all his basic facts; his birthday, height, weight, hair and eye color. It also listed his home address, the schools he went to, and his accreditations for his current job. Flipping the page, Albert found his school transcripts from every school he attended and his picture from every school grade.

"What are you looking at?"

The older boy looked over at William who was still elbow deep in the file cabinet Victoria had been looking at. "Folders on all the employees."

"They have files on us?" William asked, cocking his head to the side. He dropped the papers back into the cabinet and walked over to Albert's side. "What do they say?"

"It's a little unnerving," Albert said, looking through more of the pages. Umbrella even had a copy of his birth certificate, medical information, social security card, and driver's license.

"Wait!" William suddenly exclaimed as Albert flipped through the papers. "Hang on, I saw something!"

"What?"

William took the file folder from Albert's hands and began looking through the papers. Albert watched as he stopped at the page labeled 'relationships.' "Father, Alan Smith…your last name was Smith?"

"Yes," Albert wrinkled his nose. As much as he didn't like Alex, he liked the name 'Albert Wesker' over 'Albert Smith.' It had a stronger feel to it than Smith. "When Alex adopted me, she had my name legally changed. I was so young at the time, it didn't really matter."

"Oh," William said, lowering his eyes to the paper and continued reading. "Mother, Paulette Smith. Both were Umbrella employees, killed in an accidental fire in 1965. Intimate relations with Samantha Nennes in 1977…how do they know this stuff?"

Albert cringed when William read that last line out loud and shrugged. "I don't know and I don't want to know."

"How come you never told me you had a girlfriend?"

"It lasted for all of a night and there was too much alcohol involved for it to be considered a relationship," Albert said, shrugging and taking the folder away. "Besides, it isn't relevant to our work."

"Tell me about it," William said, looking a little too interested.

"What do you want to know?" Albert asked, hoping that William wouldn't ask too personal of questions. It wasn't like he was embarrassed talking about this kind of thing, because, really it was a natural part of life, but he liked to act as if he was above that petty need of the flesh. It wasn't like he needed it, he did it solely out of curiosity.

"What happened?"

"I wanted to know what the big deal about sex was," Albert explained, casually leaning against the filing cabinet. "I went to a college party and she was relatively attractive. Both of us were pretty drunk and she ended up inviting me back to her room. The next morning, she yelled at me because her boyfriend was coming home and she didn't want to be seen with me."

"Oh," William said, obviously hoping Albert would go into more details. When the older boy didn't offer anything, he starting to go through the A through F drawer. "I want to see mine."

William pulled his out but before he could look at it, Albert snatched it from his hands. He smirked and cleared his throat before reading. "William Joseph Birkin, born July 10, 1962. You showed high intelligence beginning in the first grade and were boosted up four grades. Your parents are Adam and Lillian. You have two older brothers, Alex and Josh…makes sense; you act like the youngest child-"

"Do not!" William snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. "What else?"

"Both your brothers followed your father into the military career and are accomplished soldiers. Your mother died in a car accident in 1969 going to pick you up from school, something that your father consistently blames you for …" Albert trailed off after he read that.

He continued to read the rest of the paragraph, learning about how William's father constantly berated him and his achievements due to his belief that William was the sole cause of the accident. At times, he even ignored William and only seemed to be interested in his two older brothers.

When he was finished reading, the older boy looked up from the page to look at his partner. William's face was red and he refused to meet Albert's eyes.

Albert closed the folder and studied his companion closely. He could see the hurt and embarrassment radiating off of William from his hunched shoulders and shrunken stance. He could understand William's pain but he couldn't sympathize with him nor didn't know how to make him feel better. Finally, he reached out and squeezed his shoulder. "Forget about him. You've already accomplished more then he ever will."

William nodded his head slowly and rubbed his eyes. "Thanks, Al."

The older boy gave him a small smirk, trying to make it seem like a friendly smile. William seemed receptive to this and he pushed the file cabinets closed. "I think I've had enough rule breaking for today."

Albert nodded his head in agreement. He held the door open and silently followed William back to their room.

* * *

"Al?"

Albert moaned as consciousness slowly started pulling him awake. He did not want to be waking up and he quickly rolled over onto his side, away from the direction of William's bed. As long as the other boy didn't keep bugging him, he could probably fall back asleep…

"Albert?" William said, this time a little louder.

The older boy's eyes snapped open and he flipped over, glaring at William with all the annoyance his tired self could manage. His partner was wide-awake, sitting up in bed, arms wrapped around his knees.

"What?" Albert hissed. While they usually would get up early in the morning, it was their vacation and he wanted to take advantage of the week they had to sleep in.

William snorted and smiled. "Your hair is sticking up on one side."

"I seriously hope that critiquing my hair is not the reason you decided to wake me up," Albert snapped, smoothing down his hair.

"No, it wasn't," William said, pulling the sheets around himself. "It's Christmas today, you know."

"I am aware as yesterday was Christmas Eve," Albert said, sitting up. The cool, morning air chilled his bare torso and he shivered as goose bumps appeared across his skin. "What does that have to do with being up now?"

"People usually get up early on Christmas," William explained, resting his head on his knees. "You know, to see the presents?"

Albert raised an eyebrow. "I think you forget that Alex and I didn't actually celebrate Christmas."

William nodded and got out of bed. He went to the dresser and rummaged through it before taking clothes and heading to the bathroom. A moment later, the door closed and Albert could hear the shower running.

The older boy leaned back against the headboard of the bed. He wondered what kind of Christmas tradition the Birkin family had. Did they act like a normal family and put all their troubles aside for one day? Did they bond over the fireplace and sing Christmas carols? He wondered if those were actually traditions or just the imagination of someone who wrote television shows.

Alex stopped celebrating Christmas with him when he turned eight. According to her, it was time for him to grow up and be mature because he was a special child who didn't need Christmas to make him happy. He was above all that.

There was a knock on the door and Albert stared at it, eyeing it curiously. There was someone here besides the two of them? It happened so suddenly that he almost wondered if he had heard it until the knock came again.

He kicked off the covers, wincing a bit as his feet touched the cold linoleum floor, and opened the door a crack.

"Ah! Albert!"

"Doctor Johnson?" Albert asked, opening the door fully.

Johnson was smiling widely, his warm brown eyes had a sparkle to them that Albert had never seen before. He was dressed in a bright green holiday sweater that was clearly knitted by hand and there were flakes of snow in his greying hair. "Please, it's the holiday, call me Mark."

"Good morning, Mark," Albert said, giving him the best smile he could manage. "To what do we own the pleasure of your visit?"

"It's Christmas!" Johnson said, cheerily. "Anyway, my wife and daughter are upstairs making some breakfast. So get William up and then the two of you come up to the dining commons."

Albert nodded. "That is very kind of you. We'll be up in a few moments."

He closed the door and turned around. William was standing in the doorway of the bathroom, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, wet hair sticking to his head. "Who was that?"

"Doctor Johnson," Albert answered, grabbing a black sweater and jeans out of his own dresser before heading to the bathroom. "He and his family are here to spend Christmas morning with us."

"They are?" William titled his head to the side. "Why?"

"It's Christmas," Albert quoted, closing the bathroom door behind him. He quickly stripped and turned on the water. When it was warm enough, he climbed into the shower.

Johnson was a man Albert could not figure out. In a lot of ways, he acted as a surrogate parent to both him and William. Even more confusing to Albert was that Johnson seemed to genuinely like him and William. True the other employees acted nice to them but they always had an obvious contempt for the young employees. Only Johnson treated them kindly without seeming to expect any type of reward.

Albert shook the soap out of his hair and turned off the shower. He quickly dried off and dressed, opting to leave his sunglasses in their room.

"Ready to go?" Albert asked, stepping back into their bedroom.

William nodded and the two started up the stairs to the dining halls. When they opened the door to the dining commons, Albert's eyes widened in surprise.

One of the long tables had been set with a tablecloth and miniature Christmas decorations. The tree that had been sitting in the far corner of the room was now next to the table and there were presents under it.

At the table, a woman with ash blonde hair was placing plates of hot pancakes on the dishes lined around it. When the two entered, she turned around to face them and gave them a smile. "Hello! Mark is in the back getting the rest of breakfast. I'm his wife, Rose."

"I'm Albert," Albert held out his hand and Mrs. Johnson shook it happily. Just like Johnson, she had a warm smile and kind eyes. "Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise," Mrs. Johnson nodded her head and held her hand out to William. "And you must be William."

William smiled widely. "It's nice to meet you."

The door from the kitchen opened and Johnson walked out followed by a teenaged girl. The girl had long ash blonde hair and pale blue eyes. Her bright pink lips were a stark contrast to her pale skin. She also wore a knitted sweater like her father but hers was a bright magenta.

"I see you've already met my wife," Johnson said, putting down the syrup holder he had in his hands. "Albert, William, I'd like you to meet my youngest daughter, Annette. She's a senior at Raccoon City High."

"Hi guys," Annette said, smiling as her eyes traveled over Albert's face then William's. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas," William replied, grinning from ear to ear.

Albert's eyes skimmed over Annette. She was pretty, that is for sure, but he never really liked blondes. He tended to be attracted to brunettes like Victoria…Albert blinked in surprise as the thought crossed his mind and then quickly got rid of it. He shouldn't be thinking about this kind of thing.

"I had been hoping my older daughter, Vanessa, would be here as well but she's with her boyfriend's family right now," Johnson explained. "But please, come eat."

"Thank you," Albert and William said, taking their seats on one side of the table. Johnson and his family took the other side, putting Annette in the middle of the two of them.

Conversation quickly filled the dining hall as the five of them ate. Mrs. Johnson seemed to be especially fascinated with Albert and William being Chief Researchers so young. She asked them about their schooling and was happy to hear how William attended Berkley, the same school she went to. Annette also asked a lot of questions. She was interested in the science career and began asking about their different experience in college sciences. Out of the two of them, she seemed more interested in what William had to say over Albert.

"That was very good," William said, once they all had finished eating and Johnson and Rose began clearing away the dishes. He glanced over at the Christmas tree and the presents under them. "The decorations are nice too."

"Those aren't decorations," Annette laughed. "They are for you."

Albert suddenly wished he hadn't left his sunglasses in the room. He never received presents before and he was again unprepared to deal with this kind of situation. Letting out a deep breath, he pinched the bridge of his nose. This holiday was putting him through so many different emotions that he did not want to deal with.

"They are sweaters that my mom knitted," Annette explained. She indicated the one she was wearing. "You don't actually have to like them, just pretend."

Albert snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. If his sweater looked anything like the one Johnson or Annette was wearing, he would sooner offer to be a test subject than wear it.

"Sweaters?" William asked, crinkling his nose.

"Yes, they are a family tradition," Annette replied, looking amused at William's disgusted face. "Everyone has one."

As soon as Johnson and Rose came back from the kitchen, the two of them insisted that Albert and William open their presents. As Annette had warned them, they were sweaters knitted by Rose. Albert's was a deep wine red and William's was a cerulean blue that complimented his eyes well, something that Rose felt very proud of.

After modeling their sweaters and downing a few cups of hot chocolate, Mrs. Johnson announced that the family had to get back home to get ready for their own Christmas party. Albert and William bid them good-bye, thanking them sincerely for the surprise.

Albert was amazed by William's heightened spirits due to the brief gathering. While he had never really been gloomy about spending the holiday with just Albert, there was something about him that was lighter and happier. The more he thought about it, the more Albert realized that he too, felt slightly since Johnson had shown them such kindness. Perhaps the holidays weren't so bad if you spent it with people like William Birkin and the Johnsons.

**Thanks again to everyone following and reviewing! 3**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks again to everyone who has been reviewing and following my story! It means a lot 3  
**

**Just a heads up, there is some swearing here. Nothing too bad but I know some people don't like it too much.**

Chapter 6

April 1979

Being a genius, there were very few things William Birkin wasn't very good at. Interacting with human beings who were actually living was one thing. Organization was another thing he couldn't seem to master no matter how hard he tried. The last thing, and what he was currently attempting to do, was driving.

"How was that?"

Albert let out the deep breath he was holding out through his nostrils and slowly pealed open one eye, then the other. His heart was still racing and every single muscle in his body was tense as a bowstring. For the millionth time since they set out on this little adventure, he cursed his past self. What in God's name made him think that teaching Will to drive was a good idea?

"Well?" William asked, sitting beside him in the driver's seat. Albert stiffly turned his head to William and the boy gave him a large smile. "How was that?"

"T-That," Albert paused so that he could steady his voice. "That was..." Horrible? Disastrous? He really couldn't think of a proper adjective.

"Well, it wasn't my fault the guy didn't see my turn signal indicator," William said, looking hurt. "And you don't have to grip the seats like that, I'm not going to kill us."

Albert's gaze dropped down to his hands, realizing that he couldn't feel them. His arms were straight down his sides, knuckles white from how tightly he was holding onto the seat. Abruptly he released his grip on the chair and winced as blood rushed back into his fingertips. His fingers were still very stiff and he cracked them to relieve the tension.

"It _is_ your fault," Albert corrected him. "You turned left into oncoming traffic."

"You said I could do that!" William insisted. "You said I could turn left even though I didn't have a green arrow!"

"Yes, but you have to _yield_ to the oncoming traffic," Albert snapped, pushing his sunglasses higher up his nose. "And right after that you ran a red light."

"I thought it was going to stay yellow for longer," William whined, slouching in his seat. "Why is driving so difficult?"

"It isn't," Albert said slowly and deliberately. "You are making it difficult by getting so wound up about every little detail."

"At least I got us to the parking lot safely."

Suddenly a police car pulled up beside them and an officer stepped out of the car. He kicked the door closed behind him and slowly started approaching the car.

"Oh god," William gasped, sinking low into the seat. "What do I do?"

"Just stay calm," Albert snapped. "You don't know what he wants yet."

"Right."

The officer rapped on the window and William rolled it down. "H-hello, officer."

"Hello boys," the officer leaned on William's window and looked at William closely. He was young with a thick crop of brown hair and sharp features. He had a heavy build and looked more like a refrigerator then a person. "What are you up to?"

"N-n-nothing," William stammered.

"Really?"

"Is there a problem officer?" Albert asked, not liking the tone the officer used.

"Well," the officer said, looking somewhat irritated that Albert questioned him. "This vehicle has an Umbrella parking permit, meaning it clearly belongs to an Umbrella employee. Why would two young boys such as yourself be in possession of this car?"

Albert eyed the officer. "We _are_ Umbrella employees."

The officer blinked and then burst out laughing. "Umbrella employees? That is possibly the worst lie I've ever heard."

Albert sighed. Despite the fact that they got this type of reaction often, it still irritated him that people never took them seriously. "And what is your name?"

"Officer Irons," the young man said, still choking back his laughter.

"Well, Officer Irons," Albert said, glaring at the cop over the top of his glasses. "You yourself don't look old enough to be a full on police officer. So what are you? A trainee trying to bring in a duo of car thieves to impress your superior?"

Irons stopped laughing and forced a smile. "If you really are Umbrella staff, show me your Umbrella Identifications."

Albert and William reached in their pockets and produced their cards. Officer Irons snatched both of them and inspected the cards closely. "William Birkin and Albert Wesker…I'll remember that." He flicked their identification cards at them and spun on his heel before walking away.

"Jackass," Albert muttered, picking his card off the floor of the car and placing it back into his wallet.

"I'm really glad he didn't check to see if I had a license or not," William said, also slipping his back into his wallet side pocket.

"Yeah," Albert said, unbuckling his seat belt and stepping out of the car. "That was stupid on his part. Now let me drive home so we don't have to deal with any more idiots."

* * *

"How did the driving lesson go?" Victoria asked Albert and William as they walked back into their lab. She was sitting at William's desk, sorting though his ever-present mound of paper.

"It was something that should never occur a second time," Albert told her.

"It wasn't that bad!" William insisted, making a face. "I made a lot of improvements today."

Albert looked at him over the top of his sunglasses. "Yes, you actually managed to stay on the proper side of the road. Now if only you could stay in your own lane and not get distracted by every little thing outside of the car."

Victoria giggled and Albert glanced over in her direction. Her head was tilted downward, so he couldn't see her eyes but he could see how the corners of her mouth were gracefully curved upward in a smile.

"I just need more time!" William snapped, stomping over to his workstation.

"I value my life too much to have a next time," Albert retorted, dropping down in his own chair.

William looked back at him and stuck his tongue out.

"If you value your life so much," Victoria said softly, standing up so that William could take his seat. "Why do you work here?"

Albert blinked and stared at her. When he didn't respond, Victoria looked up, pine green eyes meeting his dark blue ones dead on.

Before Albert could respond, there was a knock at the door and Johnson walked into their room. "Good afternoon everyone. Did the driving lesson go well?"

William scowled and glared at Albert. Johnson did not miss his reaction and chuckled a bit. "That well?"

"It went wonderfully," Albert answered dryly, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Is my car still intact?" Johnson asked, casually folding his arms across his chest. Albert raised an eyebrow, amazed that the man was so calm in regards to his car. Were it his car, William would not be allowed anywhere near it.

"Yes," William responded quickly, before Albert could mention the gigantic dent in the back bumper where William had backed into a tree earlier at the beginning of his lesson. The older boy shook his head but Johnson didn't notice.

"Well then, everything is fine," Johnson said lightly, obviously aware of William's driving troubles and trying to make light of them. "Anyway, Spencer needs to see you. He phoned while the two of you were out."

"For what?" William asked, swiveling around in his chair. "He hasn't asked to see us in months!"

Johnson shook his head. "He didn't say anything except that he expects the two of you in his office as soon as you returned."

"He didn't call for you as well?" Albert inquired. Generally when Spencer called for him and William, he also called for Johnson. It seemed strange that he wouldn't want the former Chief Researcher to attend the meeting as well.

"Spencer asked specifically for you and William," Johnson replied, leaving the room. "I'm sure he has enough confidence that the two of you can handle whatever he wants by yourselves."

Albert nodded as he rummaged through the top drawer of his desk, looking for his tie. He easily found it and began to tie it around his neck. Spencer always demanded the best of his employees, including their dress. All the men in the facility kept a spare tie hidden in their desk somewhere in case he dropped in unexpectedly. The few females who worked at Arklay always wore heels and makeup whenever Spencer came around.

Once his tie was perfectly in place, he waited for William to produce his tie from the mess of his desk. After over a minute of him searching, Victoria signed heavily and quickly pointed it out to him, next to his coffee cup.

"Oh," William said sheepishly, grabbing the purple and yellow-stripped tie. He quickly slipped it over his head and started fumbling with it. "Can you help me?"

"Sure," Victoria said, reaching out to him.

William took a large step towards her so that there was less than half a foot of space between them. Victoria's hands slithered up the tie and began adjusting it into the perfect position. Albert narrowed his eyes behind his lenses and felt a strange urge to tell the other boy that it wasn't necessary to be that close together to fix a tie. However before he could actually say it, Victoria finished and the two stepped apart.

Albert exhaled deeply through his nose, turned on his heel, and marched out of the lab, making sure to slam the door behind him.

"Albert?" William's voice called after him.

Albert ignored him and doubled his pace.

"Albert, wait!" William's footsteps echoed on the hallway as he ran to catch up with him. "Al!"

Albert didn't slow down but William eventually caught up to him. "What's going on?"

Again, Albert didn't say anything. Why was this bugging him? All William had her do was fix a stupid tie. That was around his neck. Albert breathed out through his nose again. This was really stupid but it wasn't his fault, he reasoned. He was a young man; it was the stupid hormones that were doing this.

They walked in silence the rest of the way up to Spencer's office. Albert kept looking straight ahead, trying really hard not to look at William. Would the younger boy realize what was eating at him? He really hoped not.

By now, it was fairly well known that William was crushing hard on their assistant even though he thought he was being sneaky. Albert heard the other employees gossiping amongst themselves about William's ability to head this research facility if he was too busy focusing on girls. Albert did not want that gossip and attention on himself. For her part, Victoria didn't show any interest in William and kept their work very professional. It was only when William did things like he did this afternoon that made things awkward.

They finally reached Spencer's office. Spencer's door was bare except for a gold plaque with his name inscribed on it. Albert reached out and knocked three times.

"Come in."

Albert grabbed the handle and pushed the door open. William slipped in and Albert shut the door carefully behind him.

Spencer's office was on the backside of the building, facing away from the sun, giving it a dull lighting through the curtain-framed windows. Spencer's desk was in the middle of the room and three portraits hung behind him. On the left was Dr. Marcus, looking as he did while a young ambitious man. The one on the right held a man with pale blond hair and icy blue eyes who Albert assumed has to be the late Edward Ashford. The middle was of Spencer himself, arrogantly staring down at anyone observing the painting.

Behind the wooden desk was Spencer. He was dressed in a bright gold jacket with a crisp cream shirt underneath, dressing outlandishly as always. He was hunched over the desk, closely analyzing some papers in front of him.

"Hello boys," Spencer said, looking up from his paperwork. "Sit."

William and Albert dropped into the two chairs opposite Spencer's desk.

"Now, I have something very important to discuss with you," Spencer said, leaning forward. "Word has reached me that Marcus has created some new virus. He is calling it Tyrant or 'T-Virus' for short."

Albert and William exchanged glances. While at Arklay Training Facility, they knew Marcus had been secretly working on some private project while he had them working on Progenitor. Despite their questions, Marcus never shared anything with him on what he was working on. But what did that have to do with them?

"Now, you're both probably wondering what that means for you," Spencer continued, caressing the papers in front of him. Albert pressed his lips together. He hated how much Spencer was able to read people and desperately wanted to put his sunglasses back on. "I want this new virus."

"Marcus works for Umbrella," Albert said slowly. "Wouldn't it make sense that he would share the report on this virus?"

"No," Spencer snapped, slamming his hand on the table.

Albert pursed his lips together.

Spencer stood up and looked out the window, clasping his hands behind him. "Why do you think I shut down the training facility?"

Albert glanced at William. The younger boy drew an identical blank look that Albert wore. "No."

"Marcus has lost sight of the well being of this company," Spencer explained, still looking out the window. "Instead of looking out for Umbrella's best interests, he only cares for his own advancement and glory."

Neither boy said anything. Marcus rarely showed any interest in the trainees he was supposed to look after unless they were exceptional prodigies. Even with them, he saw them two hours a day and was in his lab for the rest of it.

"His insistence that the new T-Virus he created could not be shared is only further proof that he plans to publish the results as his own private work rather then as a product of this company." Spencer turned toward them now. He leaned on his desk, beady eyes peering at them. "I had one of my most loyal men pick up Marcus's notes on the T-Virus but the formula for the virus itself is missing. I believe he may have destroyed them or hidden them somewhere."

Spencer took the papers that were on his desk and pushed the papers toward the boys. "Here are the notes that I do have. They list how this virus affects various organisms. I want you to work backwards, using these to create our own T-Virus before Marcus can perfect his. We can't let Marcus get away with his betrayal."

* * *

"What do we know about the T-Virus," Albert said, grabbing chalk and standing next to the chalkboard in Victoria's side office.

It had been almost a week since Spencer gave them the assignment to recreate the T-Virus. Since they didn't want anyone else knowing what they were up to, Albert and William worked on it after hours and only in Victoria's side office. William had talked Victoria into staying with them, claiming he needed help organizing, and Albert realized that he didn't really mind having the extra time with her.

"Heightened aggression is the most obvious factor," William said. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, notes fanned out around him.

"Heightened aggression," Albert repeated, writing it on the chalkboard.

"Didn't one of you say something along the lines of paralysis of pain sensations?" Victoria asked, adjusting in her chair.

"Right," Albert said and added _loss of pain _on the board under _heightened aggression_.

"Loss of intelligence," William continued flipping through the notes. "Increased need for food."

"Yeah," Albert continued writing as William listed them off.

"Increased in size for subjects that aren't mammals," William tossed a paper aside and grabbed another. "

"Skin deterioration," Victoria added.

Albert finished the list and took a step back. "Okay, we know that he used Progenitor as a base, but he had to have mixed something else into it."

"Do you have an idea of where to start?" Victoria asked, standing up and straightening out her skirt.

"No," William sighed, sounding defeated. "It could be anything."

Victoria nodded. "I'll put together a file of all the work of Marcus's former students for you as a start."

"Why his former students?" Albert asked, looking confused. "I highly doubt Marcus would have shared any information that sensitive with any students. He rarely shared anything with us and everyone said we were the closest who ever got to him."

"No, but its probably something that they or even you came up with," Victoria explained, crossing her arms over her chest. "Marcus is famous for stealing the work of his students and passing it off as his own. To be perfectly honest, I'd start with William's Ebola work."

* * *

"Son of a bitch," William whispered as he looked at the new test virus he created. He shoved the petri dish toward Albert. "Look!"

Albert grabbed the dish and slipped it under the microscope. The virus William just created looked almost identical to Marcus's T-Virus. "Son of a bitch indeed."

Instead of try to gather all of Marcus's former students' work, Albert and William took Victoria's advice and went straight to combining the Progenitor Virus and the Ebola samples William worked on while at Arklay. It barely took them an hour to create the T-Virus exactly as Marcus had.

"Did you get it?" Victoria asked, looking up from the notes she was taking.

"He stole my Ebola work!" William yelled, slamming his hand down on the lab table. "That was all my research!"

"Do you know if Marcus has published any of this?" Albert asked.

"He hasn't yet," Victoria put down her pencil and closed her notebook. "Rumor has it, he is trying to create some kind of weapon first."

"We have to take it in to Spencer then," Albert said. "Spence can make a public announcement tomorrow so if Marcus does end up publishing it, he'll look like a fool."

"I'll type up the report right now," Victoria offered, going to her computer. "I'll have it polished and on Spencer's desk by tomorrow morning."

"Perfect," Albert said. "Marcus needs to learn that he can't use our talents anymore."

* * *

Albert looked around the conference hall table at the rich, well dressed men seated in attendance. Marcus was sitting at one end while Spencer sat at the other. William and Albert were on either side of Spencer. The rest of the men at the table were some of Umbrella's investors and clients.

"I want to thank you all for coming on such short notice," Spencer began the meeting. "However, I can assure you gentlemen, that your rush to get here will not be in vain."

Spencer cleared his throat and passed William the stack of papers he had in front of him. William took one then passed the stack to the man next to him. The cycle repeated until Albert finally got the final paper.

"I present to you, the future of Umbrella. Gentlemen, the Tyrant Virus."

Albert glanced over at Marcus. His former teacher didn't try to hide the shock that he must have felt as he looked at the announcement in his hand. He stared across the table at Spencer and Albert could almost imagine the daggers he was throwing at the other man.

The rest of the room filled with murmurs as the investors and clients began to talk amongst themselves.

"Thanks to Dr. Birkin and Dr. Wesker," Spencer continued over the noise. "Umbrella will be a leading manufacturer in not only household and medical supplies, but in the manufacture of biological warfare."

Everyone fell silent for a moment and then there were scattered claps along the table. Spencer smiled, looking proud as if he had discovered the virus rather then had two of his employees steal it from a colleague.

"Once Dr. Birkin and Dr. Wesker are able to produce enough samples, they will begin working on a fighting, living biological weapon that will be on the market within the next few years."

Albert met William's eyes and raised an eyebrow. A fully capable and working biological weapon? In _the next few years_? Albert glanced at Marcus. The man's face was close to purple and it looked like he hadn't taken a breath in a while.

"Are there any questions?"

Spencer spent the next few minutes answering the questions of the investors. With each answer, he exaggerated the T-Virus, claiming it had abilities that Albert and William didn't even know were possible yet. Finally, the questions died out and Spencer invited everyone to accompany him to lunch.

"Ozwell," Marcus ground out as the hall started to empty. "May I have a word?"

Spencer smiled broadly. "Certainly. Wesker, Birkin, would you stay as well."

Albert let out a slow breath. He knew this probably wasn't going to go well and almost wished that Spencer had let him and William leave with the rest of the clients and investors.

"How could you do this to me?" Marcus demanded, shaking from the anger he was feeling. "That was my virus Spencer, my livelihood!"

"Really, James," Spencer rolled his eyes. "Calm yourself. This is no way to be behaving in front of our clients."

"You stole my research!"

"No, James," Spencer said, shaking his head slowly. "I am merely presenting _Umbrella's_ research to _Umbrella's _clientele."

"But—"

"You may not realize this," Spencer hissed dangerously. "But you still are under contract. Anything you create is my property."

Spencer paused for a moment and looked around at each of them, Albert and William as well. "I run this company, not you. You better learn your place or you will sorely regret it."

Albert pursed his lips together, realizing that not only was that threat directed at Marcus, but at him and William as well.

**Hope everyone enjoyed this update! It's a little short but I hope it was still a good read. Please review, favorite, follow, etc. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello Everyone! Hope you all are doing well! **

**I also wanted to give everyone a warning that rape is mentioned in this chapter. It is not graphic, rape is only mentioned as part of a character's history. **

Chapter 7

June – August 1979

Albert watched from behind his dark shades as Dr. Carl Berg read from the podium in the front of his and William's lab. "Not only will a Doberman Pinscher be an inconspicuous weapon, they should be fairly easy to control. Dogs are trainable and are highly intelligent creatures who are capable of understanding and remembering multiple commands."

"Indeed," Albert said, attempting to sound interested. He wrote _dog_ next to Berg's name on the notepad in front of him. "How do you plan on proceeding?"

"I know the Raccoon City Police Department has a K-9 training unit that utilizes Dobermans," Berg replied. "I was hoping to establish a connection there and take some of the animals rejected from the program."

"Animals are rejected due to their inability to follow commands or maintaining self control," Albert pointed out. He paused for a moment. "This could either work in your favor or against you in a weapon. It all depends on how well you engineer the creature."

"Yes, Dr. Wesker," Berg nodded his head, cheeks a little flushed at his slight oversight.

"Dr. Birkin and I have a name for you to call at RPD," Albert said, remembering Officer Irons who pulled William over during the driving lesson some months ago. "He owes us a bit of a favor."

"Thank you Dr. Wesker," Berg said. He looked over to the person sitting directly to Albert's right and made a face. "…and Dr. Birkin."

Albert followed Berg's gaze and turned to look at William, pressing his lips into a hard line. His partner's head was bent so far low over his desk that Albert could only see his crop of dirty blond hair. The other boy was writing furiously on his own notepad and Albert could bet that none of the notes had anything to do with any of the presentations they've had today.

Albert cleared his throat and William's head snapped up. "That's great Doctor…"

"Berg," Albert hissed out of the corner of his mouth.

"Berg," William finished, head going back to his notes.

The older blond resisted the urge to smack his partner upside the head. "We'll let you know."

Berg bowed slightly and backed out of their lab. The door had just barely closed when Albert swiveled his chair to face William full on.

"What did you think of that one?"

"Hmm?" William looked up again. "It sounded good."

"Do you know what his was about?"

William opened his mouth and closed it.

Albert sighed. "Do you know what any of them are about?"

"Someone suggested a plant, a frog, and a fly, " William rattled off, reading Albert's notes.

Albert rolled his eyes and turned away from William. "We have David Burnside next."

William scrunched his noise and looked at Albert's list. "Which one is he?"

"David Burnside, reddish brown hair, green eyes, enough freckles to accurately represent the population of Illinois."

Recognition still did not cross William's face. "Uh…sure."

Albert shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. "It's a good thing you are salaried…"

"Doctors," Victoria walked in holding a clipboard. Her skirt swished around her legs as she walked and Albert found that he needed to remind himself to look at her face. "Doctor Burnside is ready for you."

"Perfect," Albert glanced over at William. "Are you going to pay attention to this one?"

"I have more important things to do besides help these rats," William insisted.

Albert was about to say something but Victoria cleared her throat. "Should I send him in?"

"Yes."

Victoria nodded and spun around to get Burnside. Her skirt swirled around again and Albert forced himself to look at William.

Albert raised his eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," William snapped, hiding his notes again.

"Touchy," Albert muttered, rolling his eyes.

The door opened again and Dr. Burnside walked in. "Hello Dr. Birkin and Dr. Wesker."

Albert grunted at the high-pitched tone of Burnside's voice. He never understood how a man in his early thirties sounded like a teenager whose voice was still in the middle of cracking. William didn't say anything as he was again scribbling away on his notes.

"So what do you have for us today, David," Albert asked once Burnside reached the podium.

"I have decided to propose a snake BOW," Burnside answered. "I plan on using a garden snake due to how common they are in most parts of the country. They would be easy to find, breed, and then mass produce them."

"You are assuming that the potential client would be attacking somewhere within the United States," Albert pointed out. "While garden snakes are quite common, they will stick out if the weapon is deployed in a place where garden snakes do not typically live."

Burnside nodded, his reddish-brown hair flopping forward with each movement. "I thought that we could eventually expand the type of snakes to include multiple species."

"That would take more funding as we do not know if snakes as a whole will react the same way or if their different genetic make-up will cause them to all react differently."

"Yeah," Burnside agreed. "I would hope that the project could expand."

"Don't we all," Albert wrote _snake _on his notepad and then put a check mark next to it. "Is there anything else you have in mind?"

"Not really."

"Well then, I guess we are done," Albert motioned to the door. "Good afternoon."

"Thank you, doctor."

Burnside exited the laboratory and Albert sighed. These presentations were only supposed to be five minutes but he was bored. No one had come up with a great idea that blew him away. He checked his watch and sighed again. Four more presentations to go.

* * *

"Have you thought any more about your prototype?" Albert asked William, looking over the other proposals.

It had been two days since they were presented with the other researchers' proposals for the BOW Spencer wanted for his new T-Virus. Though all the ideas would be effective, none of them stood out a revolutionary.

"Yup, I already figured out my project," William handed him a folder and sat back at the lab table. He plopped down in his chair, looking quite pleased.

"Already?" Albert tried to sound unaffected. He opened the project folder and began reading it. The proposal was fairly short and briefly outlined the use of reptiles as a base organism for the new weapon with small contributions of mammalian DNA. "The DNA of a mammal? What are you thinking?"

William gave him a crooked smile. "Human DNA."

Albert sighed and handed him back the proposal. "Spencer is not going to approve that."

"Then what are your plans for the weapon?"

Albert put on a blank face and stared at him. In all honesty, he really didn't have any ideas on what to make of the project. He figured he would just pick some predatory animal that the others hadn't picked yet. Sure, it was nothing special and was just like all the other proposals but Spencer was sure to approve of it. "Spencer has not approved any use of human test subjects besides the Trevor specimen. We cannot just do as we please and it is a waste of time to even suggest such a thing. It makes more sense to use the resources we do have and work from there."

"That woman is so full of viruses it would be difficult to come up with a clean result using her DNA," William rolled his eyes, folding his arms across his chest. "I've been telling you for quite some time that we can't even hope to understand the T-Virus's full potential until we have experimented on humans. And I wasn't necessarily talking about_ actual_ humans, just fertilized human eggs."

"Fertilized human eggs?"

"I was thinking that if we injected the fertilized eggs with the genetic codes of reptiles and the T-Virus we could grow something and groom it into the perfect weapon."

"You're thinking about combining a fertilized human egg with reptilian genetic codes," Albert repeated, staring at the younger scientist over the edge of his glasses. "You didn't exactly outline any of this in your report. According to that, you're injecting a reptilian egg with human genetic codes."

"That's for...obvious reasons..." William said slowly. "I think it would be a great..._surprise_ for Mr. Spencer if it works. If it doesn't, well, then he wouldn't know."

The older scientist considered this for a moment and realized that William might have actually come up with a solution to the problem. Human DNA would provide a valuable insight into the complexities of the T-Virus and when William's experiment was a success—which Albert was sure of because William was never wrong in these matters—it could prompt Spencer into giving them human test subjects for different experiments.

"So what are your plans for a prototype?"

Albert turned away from William and faced the papers on his desk, trying to hide the frustration that made its way across his face. "I'm working on it."

* * *

Albert paced up the main stairwell that led to the dining hall. He reached the top, grunted, spun around, and walked back down the stairs. It was five thirty in the morning and, while he would usually be waking up at this time, he didn't get any sleep that night. He spent hours lying awake, unable to get comfortable, trying to come up with a proposal for Spencer but didn't come up with anything. After two hours of staring at the ceiling, he gave up and dressed, hoping to clear his mind.

Nothing he came up with was any good. All his ideas sounded exactly the same as all the proposals made by the other scientists. He really wished he'd come up with Dr. Boufford and Dr. Adey's idea, which was to make an aquatic weapon with a large great white shark as the test subject.

While the mechanics and testing techniques were exactly the same, trying out an aqua based weapon hadn't crossed anyone's minds thus far. Using the shark would open up a whole new level of weaponry that could potentially bring in millions to the company.

It really shouldn't be this difficult for him to come up with something, he reasoned, reaching the bottom of the stairs. He turned around and began climbing back up them. Surely there was something he hadn't thought of yet...

He reached the top and started back down again. Perhaps he could convince William to partner with him? Doubtful. He knew William wanted this to be his grand project where he could get his name out there in the professional community. He would not be sharing the spotlight on this one.

The clock in the facility chimed six times and he sighed. Breakfast would be served by now and he hadn't eaten since dinner ten hours ago. His stomach growled and he took it as confirmation that he should go to the dining hall.

He entered the brightly lit dining hall, eyes skimming over the rows of tables and chairs, the few individuals who were up at this time, until they came to rest on Victoria. She was sitting alone at a table in the corner, her back towards him. While he always knew that she arrived before he and William to breakfast, he did not know that she got up this early, especially since she did not live in the dormitories like some of the other scientists.

Since her back was toward him, he glanced in the window for a quick once over on his reflection. He was dressed in a black slacks and a fitted black button-up that he left open at the top. The blond hair was hanging perfectly around his face and his signature smirk across his face perfectly finished off the look. Albert wasn't entirely sure why seeing Victoria warranted concern over his appearance but this had become a new routine for him.

Once he grabbed his usual breakfast of eggs and pancakes, Albert sat down across the small table from her. Victoria looked up when he sat down, her green eyes meeting his for a brief moment, and then she went back to playing with a small glass jar. She rolled it across the table to one hand before sending it back to the other. When Albert looked closer, he could see something small being tossed around in the jar. "What is that?"

"It is a web spinner," Victoria responded. She switched the position of the jar so that it was facing Albert. With a quick flick of her wrist, she sent the jar rolling to the scientist in front of her. "I found it in the entry hall."

Albert caught the jar in his lap then held it up. The spider was about as big as a dime and it scampered all around the jar. He supposed it wasn't happy by the constant spinning Victoria had subjected it to. "Why do you have it?"

"I wondered what effect, if any, the T-Virus would have on it," Victoria explained, folding her hands on the table in front of her. "You and Will have been talking about that project Spencer gave you and I thought you could use the spider as a base organism. Web spinners are quite poisonous and perhaps the T-Virus could make more powerful as a bio-weapon."

Albert nodded his head and placed the jar upright between them. He continued to watch the spider move about its current holding space, fascinated by how frantically it moved around the jar. Once Albert grew bored of watching the small creature, he refocused his attention on his companion. "What made you think of a spider?"

"Doctor Adey, actually," Victoria admitted. "When she and Doctor Boufford were discussing their shark proposal, she mentioned that she chose the shark because it is what scares her the most. I thought about other common phobias and arachnophobia is the most obvious. Not only would you be able to kill the target, but you could strike an untold amount of fear in them."

Albert raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Cruel, but I like the idea."

"Just trying to help," Victoria responded.

The conversation died and both went back to eating their meal.

"You're up early today," Victoria commented once she finished her eggs.

"Couldn't sleep," Albert answered. She tilted her head to the side so he continued. "I was thinking about the new T-Virus project."

"Ah," Victoria leaned in closer to him. "William still keeping his project to himself?"

Albert grimaced. "Yes."

Victoria nodded her head slowly. "Do you know what it is?"

"Yeah," Albert said, moving his pancakes around his plate. "He's going to test on human eggs and use reptile DNA."

Victoria frowned. "That's not legal."

"That's what I said," Albert took a bite of food. He chewed thoughtfully for a moment. "I think Spencer would approve it."

"He would," Victoria agreed. "He does not necessarily care if his company goes by the books so long as no one blows the whistle on them."

Albert grunted. "Indeed."

They went back to eating their food.

"Anyway, if you chose not to use the spider, I'd like to submit it myself."

"Only people with doctorates are allowed to submit projects."

Victoria nodded her head slowly, lowering her gaze. "I figured as much but I thought I'd ask."

Albert cocked his head to the side. "Why don't you have a PhD?"

"What do you mean?" Victoria asked, even though Albert could tell she knew exactly what he was asking.

"You're smart. Not to the level that William or I are at but you are just as smart as the rest of the scientists here. You're detail oriented and have enough patience, as demonstrated by how you can deal with William's lack of organization. Your ideas are good."

"That's the first time I've ever heard you compliment someone," Victoria said dryly.

"When it brings me closer to my goal, I am willing to act of out character."

Victoria sighed. "It's complicated."

"And?"

"I didn't finish school and left Johns Hopkins my third year. In order to be hired as a researcher you need to finish at least your bachelor's."

Albert raised an eyebrow. This story was much more interesting then he initially thought. "Saying something is complicated means it does not exactly follow the proper channels. You know someone inside?"

"No," Victoria shifted her weight.

"Sleep with someone?"

Anger and pain flashed across Victoria's face. "No." Her voice was deadly calm but Albert could tell she was working very hard to control it. She stood up and pushed her chair in before grabbing her bag and shoving the jar into it. "I have work in my office." She spun on her heel and marched away from Albert, not looking back.

Albert watched her exit the dining hall, slamming the door as she left. He pursed his lips into a line. Clearly he had pushed a sensitive button and yet…Albert frowned. What was he feeling? Remorse for upsetting her? He pushed the thought from his head. No, he was _Albert Wesker_. He did not feel remorse.

But here he was, feeling bad about upsetting her. He blew out a deep breath through his nose. Apparently she was the second person he could not stand to see in pain. _William and Victoria_, he thought to himself, _both of you are going to be the death of me_.

Finally he made up his mind. Once he bused his dishes, he exited the dining hall and made his way down the stairs towards the labs. He reached the main laboratory and started to head towards his office when a voice called out to him.

"Albert?"

He stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Hello, Mark."

Johnson's head was peaking out of his office. "Are you looking for Victoria?"

Albert paused. "Yes."

"She's in here," Johnson said, stepping out. He motioned Albert in. "My office is more private."

Albert raised an eyebrow but nodded. "Ok."

The blond cautiously walked the opposite direction of his office to Johnson's. Before going in, Johnson placed a hand on his shoulder and made sure to look Albert in the eye. "I know it is not necessarily your strongest point, but please be gentle."

Albert nodded, unsure of what Johnson was talking about. "Yes."

Johnson still looked uncertain but allowed him to pass.

Albert entered Johnson's office and closed the door behind it. It was a good-sized room off to the side of the main lab. He had a desk, bookshelves with literature books, and a couch that looked like it once belonged to his mother. His bookshelves and desk were covered with pictures of Rose, Annette, and Johnson's other daughter, Vanessa. All of them were vacation pictures or shots of various graduations.

Victoria was standing in the middle of the office, arms crossed over her chest.

Albert pressed his lips into a line again. Apologizing wasn't his style so he thought for a moment. "I was not trying to be crude."

"I know." Victoria said quietly.

A heavy silence filled the room.

"I was a biology student at Johns Hopkins university," Victoria explained suddenly, her voice emotionless. "I was going the medical route. In my third year, one of my professors asked me to discuss a lab report with him in his office. While there he assaulted me. I fell into depression and failed my classes, resulting in my expulsion. When he found out, my professor said that he knew someone that could get me a job at Umbrella so long as I do not go to the police or report the attack. At the time, I was too ashamed to admit what happened so I agreed and began working under Dr. Johnson as a full time assistant."

Albert didn't know what he was expecting but it definitely wasn't that. "I see."

"With my expulsion, I figured I'd never get a good job or get back into a good school," Victoria's voice was still dead. "I took the job so that I didn't go through what he did to me for nothing."

Albert remained quiet. It seemed that everyone at Umbrella had a story, something that made them dark but that was necessary. The work they did was not always legal and it took a certain type of person to turn a blind eye without feeling guilty. Everyone had some kind of past, and that was hers. "How long ago?"

"Four years ago," Victoria replied. "Five this November."

_What was the appropriate thing to say in this situation_? Albert thought about saying "I'm sorry" but that did not seem fitting. He figured normal people with normal emotions would know what to say but here he was, at a total loss for words.

"Anyway," Victoria said, her voice returning to normal. "Now you know."

* * *

The summer months passed slowly with focus on creating massive amounts of the T-Virus as well as continuing experiments on the Trevor specimen.

William was particularly anxious for the outcome of his precious new project. He moved his desk so that it was closer to the phone, anxiously awaiting Spencer's call. On top of that, all he talked about was the potential of the T-Virus using human DNA and Albert was getting tired of his obsession. But, Albert thought somewhere in the back of his mind, with William focusing on his T-Virus project, he was not focusing on Victoria.

Albert submitted the web spinner project under both his and Victoria's name, though making sure to hide it from William. Though he didn't think the project would get more notoriety then William's, he felt that he could still make adjustments to the project to make it more interesting then just a spider with the T-Virus.

It was midway through August when Johnson came into their lab, making sure to close the door behind him. "Good afternoon gentlemen."

"Afternoon," William said, not looking up.

"What are you both up to?" Johnson asked cheerily, stepping up next to Albert's lab station.

"Updating all the system's files on the Trevor specimen," Albert answered as he tossed another file to the side. "Not much has changed."

"Well that tends to be the case with the Trevor specimen," Johnson produced a large manila envelope from his lab coat. "I have something I think you both want to see."

William spun around in his chair and his blue eyes went wide. "Is that what I think it is?"

Johnson smiled, a smile that a father has before giving his children the perfect present. "We will just have to open it won't we?"

William dashed across the room to Johnson's side, eyes still wide with excitement.

"Would you like to do the honors?" Johnson asked, handing him the envelope.

William didn't even respond. He snatched the envelope out of Johnson's hands and started ripping it open. He dropped the shredded remains of the envelope on the floor and began furiously reading the letter inside.

"Well?" Albert asked after a few seconds of silence.

"He approved mine," William said breathlessly. "He approved it!"

"Congratulations!" Johnson said, clapping the younger scientist on the back.

"He approved everyone's," William continued reading the document. "We are to start testing tomorrow!"

**Hope everyone enjoyed my update :) Please review and follow!**


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